Finding Heart (A HeartGold Run)
by DraconicFeline13
Summary: Totodile has lived with Chikorita and Cyndaquil at Elm's lab for almost as long as she can remember, and is unprepared for the day when a young boy named Makoto chooses Totodile as his Pokemon and her best friend gets stolen. A story of my HG run that is not quite a Nuzlocke, but still contains action, adventure, emotion, violence, and sometimes death. Rated T for certain scenes.
1. Chapter 1

The rising sun woke Totodile earlier than usual. She shifted in her Poké Ball, turning her back to the sunlight streaming through the glass, but it was no use; once she had woken up it was impossible to get back to sleep. Sighing, she sat upright, blinking drowsily and wondering why it was that Elm felt the need to place them so close to the window.

"Oh, you're awake!" Chikorita's cheerful voice came from the Poké Ball next to hers, and Totodile looked over to see the Leaf Pokémon standing with her front legs pressed up against the side of her capsule. Her eyes shone bright and eager as she spoke. "Bit early for you, isn't it?"

"I know," Totodile grumbled, not sharing her best friend's early morning enthusiasm. "It's bright out…it woke me up…"

"After yesterday, I'm surprised something like the sun could wake you," Chikorita teased.

Totodile only shrugged, feeling that forming a coherent response required too much effort when she was this tired. Yesterday had been exhausting—the three of them had been outside all day, practicing their minimal battling skills with Rattata under the close supervision of his Trainer, Gorō. Chikorita enjoyed their training sessions a great deal, but Totodile had always found them to be a waste of time. Without a Trainer of their own, the amount of strength and experience any of them could gain was extremely limited. Cyndaquil always said so.

_Speaking of which…_Totodile craned her neck to try and catch a glimpse of him through the Poké Ball on her other side. "Is Cyndaquil up yet?"

"I don't know." Chikorita turned around. "Hey, Cyndaquiiiiil!" she sang. "Wake uuuuup!"

"I _am_ awake," another voice sighed in response. "I have been for a little while now."

"Oh." She blinked. "Well, why didn't you say something?"

"Believe it or not, I am actually capable of being conscious and not creating a huge amount of noise at the same time."

"Always the kidder, Cyndaquil," Chikorita giggled. Totodile glared at the Fire Mouse Pokémon and started to form a retort but then thought better of it. It was too early in the morning for retorts.

She flopped onto her stomach instead, staring lazily across the room through partly closed eyelids. From where she was positioned, Totodile could see the outside world past the window on the far wall. There really wasn't anything exciting out there…some trees…a fence…a couple of wild Pidgey flying around…a tall red-haired person glaring into the lab through narrowed gray eyes…

Totodile sat back up so quickly she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. By the time she recovered enough to see clearly, there was no sign of the person at the window.

"Totodile?" Chikorita asked anxiously from behind her. "You okay?"

"Yeah…" She shook her head warily. Was she seeing things now? Maybe she was even more tired than she had thought. "I sat up too fast, that's all. I'm fine."

"If you say so…" Chikorita sounded doubtful. She knew Totodile too well. Cyndaquil didn't say anything, but Totodile could feel his eyes on her.

The sound of the lab doors opening took all three Pokémon by surprise. As if on cue, each of them froze and silently watched as Elm walked in, deep in conversation with a boy they didn't recognize. Totodile studied him: He was about average in height, with ruffled black hair and yellow eyes; he wore a red jacket, black jeans, and a black and red striped cap on his head. She relaxed; this was definitely not the person she thought she'd glimpsed earlier.

"…and Kotone's had hers for _ages;_ she won't even tell me where she got it," the boy was saying rapidly, "and I kept thinking I'd find one somewhere and bring it back with me, but they kept running away and I never could manage to catch one—"

"Slow down," Elm laughed, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder; he fell silent immediately, looking slightly abashed. "Your mother's told me of your desire for a Pokémon, and as it happens, I have three young and untrained Pokémon sitting right over there, waiting for a capable Trainer to raise them. I've decided to entrust you with one. Pick any of the three you like."

The boy's eyes widened, and a delighted grin spread over his face; Totodile tuned out his ensuing babble and turned to her friends, horror-struck. "Did you hear that?"

"We're getting a Trainer!" Chikorita squealed, ecstatic. "Of course I heard!"

"_We_ aren't getting a Trainer; _one_ of us is!" Totodile snapped, suppressing a jolt of frustration. "Don't you get it? We're being separated!"

"Well, you knew we weren't going to stay here our whole lives," Cyndaquil shrugged as Chikorita's face fell, apparently not having considered this. "And anyway, I'm sure there will be others Elm has in mind to come and train the two of us that are left behind."

"But..." Totodile scowled, not willing to voice aloud what she had really wished.

Chikorita did it for her. "I thought maybe we would all be raised by the same Trainer together," she said in a small voice. The excitement she had felt only a few moments ago had completely deserted her; she seemed to have visibly deflated.

Cyndaquil shook his head. "That's not how it works. You know that."

This wasn't entirely true; in reality, none of them had really known how they would be raised. Everything they knew they had learned from Elm, Gorō, and Rattata. But when Totodile thought back, she couldn't come up with a single time anyone had guaranteed they wouldn't be separated eventually. The arrival of their Trainers had seemed a far off event, some occurrence in the distant future...she had never bothered to consider it before. Putting it off in her head had been much easier.

But now it was happening, and Totodile couldn't have felt less prepared. _I don't want to,_ she thought stubbornly, desperately, as an unfamiliar hand reached out and picked up her Poké Ball. _I don't want to leave my friends…I don't want to travel with some kid I've never met before…I don't want—_

The boy's thumb pressed the small, round release button with a soft click, and the next thing she knew, Totodile was on the floor, glaring up at him with muscles tensed and teeth bared.

"I want this one." The black-haired, yellow-eyed boy's smile glowed with a certainty. He held her Poké Ball in his left hand.

"The Water-type Pokémon, Totodile," Elm nodded in satisfaction. "An excellent choice!"

Totodile growled defensively, stepping away and showing her fangs. Behind her, she heard Chikorita let out a small cry of distress, though Cyndaquil remained silent; it was obvious her friends were watching the whole spectacle. The boy kneeled down and placed a hand on Totodile's head. "Hello…my name is Makoto. It's nice to meet you."

She drew back from his touch at once, though his hand was gentle, and he didn't fight her when she shook it off. Totodile looked cautiously up at him. His eyes were warm, he had an uncertain half-smile on his face, and his hand remained partially outstretched. An odd sense of disquiet stole through her. _Why..._

"I should give you a nickname too, right?" Makoto lowered his arm and tilted his head slightly, considering. "Kani," he said after a moment. "That's what I'll call you."

Totodile blinked. She hadn't known the power of a given nickname until that instant. Now she knew somehow that she couldn't be called anything else.

_No, that's wrong,_ she thought fiercely, fighting whatever power it was that had made her think something so ridiculous. _I'm Totodile. I've been Totodile my whole life, and one boy's word can't change that!_

The kid was talking to Elm again. Blindly, Totodile turned away, wanting more than ever to go back inside her Poké Ball and remain there beside her friends for the rest of her life. She reached up, placing her hands on top of the machine that still held Chikorita and Cyndaquil and calling out to them, trying to steady her voice.

"Totodile!" Chikorita cried. Even inside her Poké Ball, Totodile could see her struggling against the capsule, trying to break free. She sighed, giving up, and sat back down, the leaf on her head drooping. "Oh, Totodile…"

"It's a bit sudden, but…I guess I won't be seeing you guys for a while." Totodile lowered her head, a shadow covering her eyes.

"We'll…we'll meet again on our journeys, I'm sure," Chikorita said miserably.

"I'm sure." Totodile tried to force an uncharacteristic smile.

"We definitely will," Cyndaquil said calmly. "The region's not that big. And we made a promise."

"…Yeah." She hadn't forgotten. Though it surprised her a little that Cyndaquil had been the one to remind her.

"Kani!" Makoto called to her from the other side of the lab. She felt an involuntary twinge of pleasure at the sound of her nickname and fought furiously to suppress it. "We're leaving!"

"I have to go…" Totodile turned away quickly and started to walk in the opposite direction, but stopped when she heard Chikorita cry out.

"Totodile…do your best!" her best friend shouted, trembling, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, but with a strong voice and bright smile, the way she always was. "Be strong and have fun on your journey! We'll definitely, definitely see each other again soon! I'm sure of it!"

Totodile looked over her shoulder, in time to see Cyndaquil back up Chikorita's words with a nod. She smiled back, a true smile this time, the result of everything she felt for her friends at that moment, filling her with a strange confidence. "Of course!"

…

As Makoto hesitantly led his Pokémon out of Elm's Pokémon lab, Totodile became considerably less confident. She had been outside before, of course, but this departure seemed to hold a note of dreadful finality that had not been there previously. _I'm not coming back,_ Totodile thought numbly, refusing to look behind her. _I'm not living in the lab anymore. I am going to be raised by a Trainer and go on a journey._

Somehow, repeating the words in her head didn't make her feel any better.

"Makoto!" someone shouted. Totodile raised her head to see a girl with brown eyes and brown hair pulled up into pigtails racing towards them, a Marill in her arms. She had seen this girl and her Pokémon before but couldn't remember ever speaking to them, and she eyed them warily as the girl skidded to a halt in front of her.

"Kotone!" Makoto grinned, gesturing proudly to the Pokémon at his feet. "Look what I got!"

Kotone let out a shrill squeal, crouching down to examine Totodile and letting her Marill tumble into the grass. "Oh, you picked Totodile! A Water-type just like my Riri! It's so _cute!_"

Totodile let Kotone fawn over her with only mild annoyance, as she was paying more attention to the other Pokémon at the moment. Riri the Marill had bounced back to her feet unharmed after being dropped a foot from the ground and scurried behind her Trainer's feet, not saying a word, eyeing Totodile as if afraid of what she might do.

Totodile tilted her head to one side, watching her curiously.

Riri stared at her, silent and wide-eyed.

Totodile hissed, showing her fangs.

Riri let out a squeak of fright and hid herself from view entirely.

_Coward,_ Totodile thought with contempt. _Chikorita and Cyndaquil were never afraid of me._

"Her name is Kani," she heard Makoto say from above her. "Isn't that right, Kani?"

Totodile glared up at him. "No."

"Aww, Kani…that didn't sound like an agreement…" Makoto reached a hand out to her. Totodile growled and pointedly turned her back. _Don't touch me._

Kotone giggled. "You might have your hands full with this one, Makoto…she doesn't seem to have taken to you much."

Makoto shifted his feet uncomfortably. "She's a bit nervous right now, I think…but I'll take good care of her, and she'll learn to like me."

"If you say so," Kotone answered, not unkindly. "What will you do now?"

"Professor Elm wants me to go talk to a friend of his that lives past Cherrygrove. So I'll be going there, I suppose."

"That's on the way to Violet City, right?" Kotone grinned. "I'm heading there anyway! Let's race to see who can get there fastest!"

"What? That's not fair; I have a mission to complete! And besides, you've had your Marill for a while and I'm just starting out!" Makoto complained. "You'll be way faster than me!"

"I'll give you a head start," Kotone promised, placing her hands on the back of his shoulders and shoving him towards Route 29. "Go on!"

"Hold it, hold it," he protested, ducking away from her. "I haven't even told my mom I'm leaving yet. I can't just take off without saying anything. Just wait half a second, okay?"

"...Fiiiiine." Kotone crossed her arms. "Riri and I will wait for you. But try not to be slow like you usually are!"

"I'm not slow!" Makoto declared. "In fact, I'm going to run the whole way! Come on, Kani," he added, reaching down to pick Totodile up. She let out a hiss of surprise as she felt her feet lift off the ground and struggled against her Trainer's grasp as he started sprinting in the other direction.

_I have a Poké Ball for a reason, you idiot!_ Totodile wanted to snarl at him, but seeing as he wouldn't have understood anyway, she let Makoto carry her and tried to distract herself by contemplating how hard she'd have to bite to break a human arm.

"I'm home!" Makoto announced loudly, letting the front door fly open and hit the adjacent wall with a _bang._

"Good," his mother replied absentmindedly from a chair in the dining room, turning the page of a magazine. "Try not to slam the door into the wall when you come in."

"Mom…" Makoto said reproachfully. "Aren't you going to look?"

She turned in her chair to face him, and was about to say something derogatory when she caught a glimpse of Totodile, still held captive in Makoto's arms. Her eyes lit up. "Oh! Is that your Pokémon?"

"Yup," Makoto said proudly. "She's a Totodile, and her name is Kani."

"Well…!" His mother was standing up now; she took several steps towards them and held out a tentative hand. Totodile sniffed at it warily and then bared her teeth, growling. She withdrew her hand immediately as though burned.

"Kani!" Makoto scolded her. "Don't act like that…sorry," he added sheepishly. "I haven't really spent much time with her, so…"

"She's only just getting used to you, so I shouldn't try to interfere," his mother finished for him. "It's perfectly understandable."

"Well, I should put her down, in any case…" Makoto leaned down and placed Totodile gently onto the floor. _About time!_ she thought to herself, turning away and letting something else catch her eye.

A large potted plant sat in the far corner of the room. A well-nourished plant, by the looks of it; the leaves were a rich jade green, the branches thick and smooth. Totodile bared her needle-sharp teeth, eyes glittering. She hadn't gotten a chance to bite something all day.

"Did Professor Elm give her to you?"

Makoto nodded, oblivious to the soft snap of breaking branches from behind him. "He needs me to go visit some friend of his who lives a little north of Cherrygrove, so he let me choose one of his Pokémon for myself to come with me."

"Well, you'll certainly need one if you're going all the way to Cherrygrove," his mom replied, but now she looked rather disapproving. "He never mentioned this. I knew he was giving you a Pokémon; I didn't know he was going to send you to run his errands…"

Totodile stopped gnawing at one of the branches and listened, suddenly feeling hopeful. _Will his mom forbid him to go? Will she send me back to the lab and tell Makoto he's not cut out to train me after all?_

"But I suppose he must have a good reason," his mother finished resignedly. "I don't see why you can't do as he asks." Totodile sagged in disappointment and resumed her attack on the plant.

Makoto, on the other hand, seemed delighted. "Thanks, mom! I should probably be going, then—"

"Not yet," his mom interrupted. "You're forgetting something, aren't you?"

"Um…am I?"

"Your Pokégear came back from the repair shop today." She went back to the kitchen and picked up a device off the table. "You're going to need it."

"Oh yeah…thanks, I forgot."

"It's got my phone number and the Professor's already," Makoto's mother went on, starting back towards him, "but you can add more if you—" The sentence was interrupted by a sharp intake of breath as her gaze moved up from the device in her hands and fixed on a point directly over Makoto's shoulder.

"Mom? What's—?" Makoto began, just in time for a particularly loud SNAP from the corner of the room to fully grab his attention. He turned around slowly and felt his jaw drop.

His mother's houseplant was completely destroyed. Nearly all the branches had been broken off, the leaves were torn to shreds, and the trunk itself had finally snapped in half when Totodile bit down on it. Totodile glanced over her shoulder, saw Makoto staring at her in disbelief, shrugged, and went back to chewing on another branch.

"Kani…" Makoto groaned, shaking his head and reaching forward to pick her up again. She let out an indignant cry of protest, which he ignored. "Sorry, mom; you might have to buy a new plant…"

"It's…quite all right," his mom replied, though her smile seemed slightly forced. "Why don't you go take care of the Professor's errand now?"

"Yes, ma'am," Makoto said hastily, taking the Pokégear and darting back outside with Totodile in his arms before she could cause any more damage.

…

"It's _not_ funny," Makoto grumbled. "Stop laughing!"

Kotone made a visible effort to control herself. "It is too," she giggled behind her hand. "Even Riri never did something like that!"

"Yeah, well, Marill don't have jaws like Totodile do. Do they even have teeth?"

"Of course they do," Kotone scoffed. "It's just that they don't use them often, being herbivores and all. You don't need strong jaws or sharp teeth to eat water plants at the bottom of a river."

"I don't even know what a Pokémon like Kani eats," Makoto said doubtfully, glancing down. Totodile sat beside him, sulking over her abrupt separation from the houseplant and thoroughly disinterested in anything they were saying. Riri was in Kotone's arms—apparently she felt safer there than on the ground.

"Well, judging by their jaws, I'd say Totodile are carnivorous," Kotone said, shrugging. "But that's just a guess. Anyway," she went on, standing up, "we've done enough talking, so let's start the race. I'll still give you a head start, like I said."

"…Are you in a rush for something in particular?"

"No, but you are. I don't think Mr. Pokémon will be very pleased if you get to his house at dusk."

"Alright, I guess you've got a point," Makoto sighed, rising to his feet. "Come on, Kani; it's time to go."

Totodile looked at her Trainer and debated the possibility of simply refusing to do what he told her. Then she pushed herself to her feet, deciding it wasn't worth it.

"See you in a bit, Makoto!" Kotone called cheerfully, waving to them as they walked away from New Bark Town and on the route to Cherrygrove City.

Getting to the city was not as big of a deal as Totodile had assumed it would be. From what Rattata had told her, anyone would have thought wild hostile Pokémon were everywhere, waiting to attack at any moment. Most of the few Pokémon they saw were timid Sentret that fled at the sight of them.

Only once did anyone pose some sort of threat, and the battle had been brief. A Pidgey had swooped in from the sky, screeching in territorial hostility. Without even listening for her Trainer's command—which, she found out later, had been to swipe the Pidgey out of the air with Scratch—Totodile opened her jaws and released a thin jet of water straight at the Pidgey's head. The Tiny Bird Pokémon fell pathetically to the ground without even a countering move. Makoto scolded her afterwards for ignoring orders, but Totodile didn't let that bother her. She had defeated the opponent on her own, without any Trainer's help. Besides, his tactic wouldn't have worked—bird Pokémon were agile, and the Pidgey would have easily dodged her flailing claws.

They reached Cherrygrove City at around noon, and Kotone was nowhere to be found. Makoto didn't stop to look around; he found which direction Mr. Pokémon's house was in, and then he ran off, Totodile in tow. Aside from the little distractions—occasional wild Pokémon confrontations, shiny things in the grass, and oddly shaped trees that Totodile found particularly alluring—they kept moving at a steady pace. There was a point at which they thought they had gotten lost and backtracked a few paces, only to find that the road had forked off earlier without them noticing. The path they needed to take was longer, with clumps of tall grass growing everywhere they stepped.

Unfortunately, at one point, one of those clumps they stepped on happened to conceal a silk nest of Caterpie. Now it was all Totodile could do to fend off the suddenly aggressive hoards of attackers that seemed to appear out of thin air.

_I never knew those little Worm Pokémon could be so_ annoying_,_ she thought vehemently, shaking two Caterpie off her arm and sending a stream of water from her jaws at another. In the background, Makoto shouted commands—

"Scratch at it, Kani!

"Knock away the Caterpie on your foot!

"There are more of them in the grass, be careful—

"Kani, use Water Gun on the Caterpie in the grass!"

—but Totodile wasn't paying him much attention. His strategies were flawed; his commands were always a split second too late; it was easier to take battles into her own hands. Things were happening too quickly for Makoto to realize she wasn't doing exactly as he told her.

Eventually, the number of Caterpie surrounding her started to decrease. When Totodile finally defeated the last of them, she whirled around and looked up at her Trainer with smug triumph—which was quickly replaced by confusion as she saw Makoto's expression filled with panic.

She was uncertain later as to whether she didn't hear his warning, or had simply ignored it. All Totodile could remember in retrospect was being completely unprepared when several lines of sticky thread wrapped around and around her, trapping her. She cast a startled glance over her shoulder and felt a sickening jolt of dread.

Three giant Butterfree flew just above her, each flap of their wings scattering a strange purple powder into the air, spitting out more of the white thread that held Totodile in a tight bind. She struggled against the silk strands, letting out a hiss of frustration and then pain as the powder settled on her skin and began to burn.

"Kani, return!" Makoto's shout startled her almost as much as the Butterfree's String Shot attack. _You can't!_ she wanted to protest, but before she could say anything a beam of light hit the top of her head and sucked her inside.

Makoto gripped the Poké Ball tightly in his left hand and ran.

…

As soon as the capsule clicked shut around her, Totodile was left with a distorted view of the world outside. She watched blurred colors rush past her as Makoto ran, no longer certain of where she was, only dimly aware of the growing numbness in her limbs.

_Am I dying?_

No, she couldn't be. It was much too soon for that to happen.

She was never going to see her friends again.

No. That was wrong. Stop thinking things like that.

An image flashed in her head. The memory sent a wave of misery and longing through her. Totodile clenched her jaw, refusing to let it rise to the surface.

_Chikorita…_

A particularly rough jolt made her wince. She tried to tilt her head, to catch a glimpse of her Trainer's face, but it was useless. She was too weak even to move.

All she could do was lie in her Poké Ball and wait until she lost consciousness entirely.

…

Makoto burst through the door of the first house he saw, not even caring whose it was. The two men sitting at a table in the center of the room looked up, startled. "Young man, just what do you think you're—" one of them began, rising from his chair.

"Help her," Makoto gasped, placing the Poké Ball on the table. "Please…help my Pokémon." He braced both his hands against the wooden surface, breathing hard, taking a moment to regain his composure as the two men stared at him. Finally, the one on the right stood as well, picking up the Poké Ball and holding it up to eye level.

"A Totodile…young, by the looks of it…injured and heavily poisoned," he muttered. He turned and strode to the other side of the room as Makoto watched anxiously. From where he was positioned, he could see the man with his back to him, taking out several spray-type bottles and what looked like a shot from an above shelf. After a few minutes he gave a short nod and walked back to where Makoto and the other man stood waiting, the Poké Ball in his hand.

"Your Totodile will be fine," he said before either of them could ask. "She's asleep now, but in perfect health. You're lucky you found help when you did. What happened out there?"

"We stepped on a Caterpie nest by mistake and they swarmed us," Makoto told him, relief and gratitude making it difficult to keep his voice steady. "She fought them off, but a few Butterfree attacked right after that…she couldn't take all of them at once. They trapped her with silk and poisoned her before I knew what was happening."

"Did you think to bring any potions or antidotes with you, boy?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry…I was in a hurry, I forgot to get some."

"You should never be unprepared, no matter how much of a hurry you're in," the man said sharply. "This Pokémon could have died." He thrust the Poké Ball into its owner's hand and left the room as Makoto felt a deep pang of shame in the pit of his stomach.

The other man, who had not said anything since Makoto's entrance, spoke up after a few moments of silence. "You are a new Trainer, yes? Just starting out?"

Makoto nodded, clutching Kani's Poké Ball close to his chest. _This Pokémon could have died._

"Don't feel too badly. Everything turned out okay in the end."

"No thanks to me," Makoto said quietly. "If I had just remembered to buy supplies earlier…"

"A common rookie mistake," the man said kindly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's fine as long as you learn from it." Makoto nodded again, feeling slightly reassured. "Incidentally," he went on, "you are Makoto, are you not?"

He looked up, surprised. "How did you know?"

The man shrugged. "I merely guessed, if truth be told. I've heard a lot about you from Professor Elm. It was I who sent him an email earlier."

Makoto's eyes widened. "You're Mr. Pokémon!"

Mr. Pokémon smiled. "I am indeed. And the fellow who healed your Totodile earlier was Professor Oak, a famous Pokémon researcher."

Once that had fully sunk in, Makoto wanted to kick himself. _I just made an idiot out of myself to _Professor Oak_?_

Mr. Pokémon laughed, seeing his expression. "Don't worry, I'm sure he doesn't think poorly of you because of this incident. As I said, many beginner Trainers make the same mistake."

Too stunned and humiliated to voice what he was thinking, Makoto only shook his head helplessly. _My first time meeting the star Pokémon researcher and I almost let my Pokémon die because I forgot to buy antidotes. What a great first impression!_

"In any case, let's move on to the real topic of why you're here." Mr. Pokémon went to the back of the room and came back carrying a strange object. "This is what I want Professor Elm to examine."

Makoto blinked, leaning forward to examine whatever it was Mr. Pokémon was holding out to him. "An egg?"

"That's right," he affirmed. "A friend of mine from Ecruteak gave it to me. I doubt you can find this kind of egg in Johto. I thought perhaps Professor Elm might be able to tell what it is. Would you bring it back to him for me?"

Makoto put Kani's Poké Ball back on the table and carefully picked up the egg. As he looked it over more closely he saw that the shell was white, with blue and red triangles of various sizes patterned on its surface. It seemed even more delicate now that he was holding it. He nodded, kneeling down to gently place it into his bag.

"I'm sure you're in a rush to get home, but would you stay a little while longer?" Mr. Pokémon offered. "At least until your Pokémon wakes up, that is. It would be better to let her recover completely before trying to make it back through Route 30."

"If you don't mind…" Makoto lowered his gaze apologetically. "Sorry for imposing."

"Not at all!" Mr. Pokémon waved his hand dismissively. "Besides, I'm sure Professor Oak will want another word with you before you leave."

…

When Totodile woke, the first thing she noticed was the lack of exhaustion in her muscles. She sat up slowly, her vision blurry; she could hear faint voices from outside her Poké Ball but not well enough to understand what they were saying. For a moment she couldn't remember what had happened. Then the memory of white silk and purple powder made her shudder.

_At least I'm not dead,_ she thought wryly, shaking her head to clear it of all thoughts regarding the unpleasant sensation of being trapped in sticky thread, or of the poison entering her veins through her skin.

An unfamiliar hand suddenly closed around her Poké Ball and lifted it into the air. Instantly on the alert, Totodile peered through the center of the capsule and saw a man she didn't recognize staring intently at her. She tensed, feeling a defensive snarl rise in her chest; the man pressed the release button and sent her tumbling out onto the floor. Totodile landed with a soft _thud_ and immediately scrambled to her feet, frantically searching for anyone she knew; relief almost overwhelmed her when she glimpsed Makoto standing in the middle of the room. She raced behind the legs of her now quite startled Trainer, turned, narrowed her eyes at the stranger, and _hissed._

Surprise and something that may have been approval glinted in the man's eyes. Makoto crouched down beside Totodile and reached out to her, looking even more startled when she didn't move away from him. "Shhh, Kani…" he whispered, running his hand along the top of her head soothingly. "It's alright, calm down. That's Professor Oak; he healed you earlier."

Totodile gripped the fabric of Makoto's jeans and allowed herself to be comforted by the rhythmic strokes and gentle reassurance. Just for a moment.

"So you're Makoto," Oak said thoughtfully. "I apologize for not realizing sooner. I assume Mr. Pokémon told you who I am?"

"Yes, he did," Makoto admitted, glancing up but not moving from his position next to Totodile. For some reason he sounded rather uncomfortable.

Oak nodded. "I had stopped by to visit Mr. Pokémon, but I heard you were running an errand for Professor Elm, so I waited here. I hoped to find out why Elm would trust a young boy such as yourself to help him with important research and raise a rare Pokémon along the way. Now I think I know."

He took a step forward; Totodile held back a snarl. "How would you like to help me out?"

Makoto blinked. "Help you?"

Oak held out something in his hands that Totodile couldn't see. "This is the latest version of the Pokédex. It automatically records data on Pokémon you've seen or caught. I'd like you to have it."

Makoto stared at the device, at a loss for words. Oak looked at him curiously. "Is there a problem?"

"N-no!" he said hastily. "It's just…after what happened earlier…"

Oak smiled. "You care deeply for this Totodile. I can see it in the way you treat her…and in how she trusts you." He looked down at the Bite Pokémon. Totodile glared up at him from her position behind Makoto's feet and bared her teeth warningly. "I can't think of anyone better to take on this project."

Makoto looked from Oak to his Pokémon and back. He closed his eyes briefly and nodded. "I'll do as you ask. And…thank you."

…

Totodile was not sure what to think as she picked her way through the grass on the way back to New Bark Town. Makoto seemed determined not to let any harm befall her, and was meticulous in making sure they didn't step on anything but grass. He stayed very close to her the whole way back, occasionally letting his fingers brush the top of her head, as if he thought letting her get too far out of reach would mean losing her for good. Normally Totodile would have felt irritated by this behavior—she had never much liked being touched, and she hated being looked after. Now it seemed merely tolerable.

She looked up at him hesitantly. He met her gaze and smiled. A strange feeling rose in her chest; it took several confused moments for her to realize that it was affection.

Torn between this jumbled mess of emotions and exasperation with herself for feeling them in the first place, Totodile didn't even notice at first when the phone on the Pokégear started to ring. Makoto reached for it, pressed a button, and held it up to his ear. "Hello?"

There was a pause. Totodile strained to listen and heard traces of Professor Elm's panicked voice over the speakers. "…disaster!...just terrible!...should I do?...oh, no…back here now!"

_Click._

Makoto slowly lowered the phone, looking bewildered. He hadn't even been able to get a word in. Totodile glanced up at her Trainer questioningly, but the only response he gave was a helpless shrug, looking just as confused as she was.

…

When they arrived at Cherrygrove, Makoto took a few minutes to stop by the PokéMart, using up all his pocket money to buy various potions, antidotes, paralysis heals, and anything else the girl at the counter suggested. Totodile watched as he stuffed the supplies into his bag, wondering why he looked so serious, almost somber.

The cashier sent them off with a bow and a "Thank you for your patronage!", and Makoto hoisted the bag onto his shoulders as they left Cherrygrove and headed down the path to New Bark.

Totodile looked around; it was late now, and the sun was beginning to set. Even after her long rest at Mr. Pokémon's house, she was beginning to feel renewed fatigue in her muscles. _I'm not used to this much exercise in one day,_ she thought ruefully, struggling to keep pace with her Trainer's longer strides. _We were never this active back at the lab..._ But the thought of the lab and seeing her friends again cheered her up quite a bit, and before long she found herself pushing ahead of her Trainer with new energy.

When a distant figure appeared just ahead of them, Totodile didn't pay it much attention. Other Trainers came down this route all the time, looking for a wild Pokémon to spar with.

But as the figure neared, Totodile glanced up and saw with a jolt of shock that it was someone she recognized.

He was tall, red-haired, and gray-eyed. The scowl on his face was all too familiar.

_He's the person from this morning! The one at the window!_

Totodile eyed him suspiciously, already certain that she hated this person, hated every inch of him. The look on his face when he caught a glimpse of her Trainer did nothing to help lessen this impression.

The red-haired figure stopped abruptly, staring at Makoto with disdain. "You got a Pokémon at the lab," he said with unconcealed contempt. "What a waste. That Pokémon's too good to be raised by a wimp."

Makoto halted as well, his puzzled expression giving way to annoyance. "And what would you know about me or my Pokémon?"

"Doesn't matter. I know a wimp when I see one." He drew a Poké Ball from his pocket and held it up to eyelevel. "But go on, prove me wrong."

Makoto frowned. "Have I even met you before?"

"That shouldn't matter either. Unless you're so pathetic you can't even accept a challenge to battle."

Totodile bristled. This guy was really starting to piss her off. Makoto only sighed and resumed his pace. "I don't have time for this."

Those silvery-gray eyes glittered triumphantly, and Totodile felt a surge of fury. With a snarl, she dug her heels into the ground and glowered up at him, baring her fangs. _I'll accept your challenge, even if my Trainer won't!_

The red-haired Trainer blinked down at her, and then looked back at Makoto, smirking, who had stopped only a few feet away to stare at Totodile in disbelief. "Look at that," he said softly. "Your Pokémon wants to fight. It's less of a wimp than you are."

Makoto said nothing, but walked slowly back to Totodile to stand beside her. His expression was unreadable. If he was angry with Totodile for not walking away earlier, it was impossible for her to tell.

"You have a pretty good Pokémon," the red-haired Trainer said again, "but I do too. I'll show you just what I mean!"

He took a step forward, hurling his Poké Ball and sending it spinning in midair. Time seemed to slow as Totodile watched, as the Poké Ball stopped turning and hovered for an instant before opening and spilling bright beams of light that hit the ground and began to take shape.

And suddenly, she knew.

She knew, with a cold sense of certainty that always comes in moments like these, when you know what's going to happen the second before it does.

The solid form on the ground became more and more distinct. Totodile watched, desperately hoping she was wrong but knowing that she wasn't. She saw the head, then the body, then the leaf…and then the eyes, those large red eyes that had so often glowed with warmth but were now glazed over with horror.

The red-haired Trainer's Pokémon was Chikorita.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Hi there! What's your name?"_

"When we work together, we can do anything!"

"We'll be friends forever, right, Totodile?"

"We'll definitely, definitely see each other again soon! I'm sure of it!"

Totodile stared at Chikorita, her entire body rigid with shock. This couldn't be right. It couldn't be. They were going to be raised together, by Trainers who cared for them. They were going to be best friends and rivals, helping each other to improve.

"Totodile…" Chikorita's voice was quiet. The horror had died away from her face, and she was smiling, but her eyes were sad. "Looks like we got to see each other sooner than I thought." Totodile clenched her jaws together. This was all wrong.

"What happened?" she asked her friend in an urgent whisper. "What's going on? Did that Trainer abduct you—?"

Before she could get an answer, the red-haired Trainer narrowed his eyes and snapped at his Pokémon. "Chikorita—take out that Totodile, now!"

Chikorita fixed Totodile with that sad, sad gaze—so unlike her usually bright and confident air. Her composure began to break, and tears filled her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Before Totodile could respond, Chikorita launched herself forward and ran towards her, the leaf on her head beginning to glow. It took several confused seconds for Totodile to realize what she was doing, and by the time she did, it was too late. Chikorita slammed into her and swiped the leaf across her neck.

Totodile breathed in a sharp gasp of pain, feeling the sharp edge cut into her skin. Shocked, she reached up to touch the wound—her hand came away tinged with red. Rage began to build inside of her, blocking out all other feelings. With a snarl, she opened her jaws and sent a torrent of water at the Leaf Pokémon. It didn't hurt her much, but it caused her to stumble, giving Totodile the chance she needed to lunge forward and sink her teeth into Chikorita's side. She shrieked, trying to pull away; Totodile released her grip but then slammed her to the ground, pinning her down.

As soon as Chikorita knew she was trapped, she went limp, not even bothering to struggle. "Toto—"

"How could you do this?" Totodile hissed. Her entire body was taut with fury, and she dug her claws relentlessly into Chikorita's sides. "You're listening to him! You're doing what he tells you!"

"I don't have a choice."

"There's always a choice!"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, trembling under the weight of Totodile's glare. "I'm so, so sorry, Totodile."

"What kind of pathetic battle is this!?" The red-haired Trainer's scathing voice cut into the air, making both Pokémon flinch. "Fight back, you idiot!"

"Kani!" Makoto's cry was even louder, and Totodile's heart leaped at the sound of it. "You can do it, Kani!"

_I've been such an idiot,_ Totodile thought, both the red-haired Trainer's and Makoto's shouts ringing in her ears. _Such a selfish idiot._

"...My name is Kani," she whispered.

Chikorita's eyes grew wide. "Totodile…?"

She looked right into the eyes of Chikorita, the Pokémon who had been her best friend, and bared her teeth as a deep snarl rose in her throat, lifting her right arm into the air. "My name is _Kani!_"

The revelation sent new energy surging through her. Kani brought her claws down on top of Chikorita's head and raked them as hard as she could along the base of her leaf and continuing downward. Chikorita screamed, writhing underneath her; only when she laid perfectly still did Kani stop her final attack, letting her arm drop limply to her side and leaving a long red gash down Chikorita's side.

There was a long silence. Or maybe time had temporarily stopped. It was what it felt like. Kani was only vaguely aware of her heavy breathing, of the painful beating of her heart, of the blood underneath her claws.

"Kani…!" Warm, gentle hands reached out and picked her up off of Chikorita's unmoving body. Makoto enfolded Kani in his arms, sighing in relief. "Thank Arceus you're okay."

Kani clutched at the front of Makoto's jacket, struggling to calm herself. The blinding rage that had clouded even her vision was beginning to fade, letting revulsion and hurt rise to the surface.

_Chikorita has…betrayed me,_ she thought numbly. _And Cyndaquil…_

Wait a minute. What had happened to Cyndaquil?

"_Idiot!_" The red-haired Trainer seethed, interrupting Kani's thought process. He sealed the unconscious Chikorita back inside her Poké Ball and shoved the capsule deep into his pocket. "Worthless Pokémon…"

"Come on, Kani," Makoto muttered, turning away. "Let's get away from this guy."

"Don't think you've won!" The Trainer's angry shouts drifted behind them as Makoto walked off. "Your Totodile may have beaten me this once, but you're still a wimp! I'm going to be the greatest Pokémon Trainer in the world!"

"He makes an awful lot of noise, doesn't he, Kani?" said Makoto, trying to lighten the mood somewhat. "I wouldn't worry about him, he's just—what's this?"

He stooped down and picked something up off the ground, careful not to let Kani fall. Straightening, he turned the object over in his hand and frowned. "Kani, look. It's a Trainer card…it's got a name on the back. That guy must have dropped it."

"And you're going to give it back right now!" The red-haired Trainer's voice came from out of nowhere, and as Makoto whirled around, there he was, standing directly behind them. He took another step forward and snatched the card out of Makoto's hands. "Don't get in my way from now on. I don't care if you did see my name." With one last glare, he gave Makoto a hard shove, turned, and stalked off in the opposite direction.

…

When Makoto returned to New Bark Town with Kani still in his arms, he was startled to find police officers surrounding the lab outside. Nervously, he walked past them, doing his best to ignore the glances he received from some of them. He could feel tense hostility growing in his Pokémon, and he wrapped his hand hastily but gently around her jaw to keep her from growling. She glared, jerking her head to the side to remove his hand, but remained silent.

Professor Elm was talking quietly to another officer at the back of the lab. Makoto set Kani on the floor and moved towards them cautiously.

Before he had gotten even halfway across the room, a man with a notepad and a frown stepped into his path. "Who are you?" he demanded. "We're investigating the case of the missing Pokémon here…" His gaze drifted down to Kani, who stood at Makoto's feet. The suspicious frown on his face deepened. "How exactly did you come to obtain that Pokémon?"

"Professor Elm gave her to me—"

"You stole it from this lab only moments ago!"

"No, of course I didn't—"

"You stole it, and then, overwrought with guilt, came back to return it!" The reporter was working himself into a frenzy. Kani spared him a single look of disdain, which he ignored. Makoto glanced over at the professor for help, but he was still deep in conversation with the police officer and hadn't even noticed him come in.

"It wasn't him!" a new voice exclaimed, one that made Makoto weak with relief at the sound of it. Kotone rushed up and stepped directly between them, interrupting whatever accusation the reporter was about to make next. "Makoto had nothing to do with this," she insisted. "Leave him out of it."

"He clearly is in possession of one of the lab Pokémon," the reporter countered, gesturing to Kani just in case Kotone didn't know which Pokémon he was referring to. "And it clearly doesn't like him very much!"

Kotone scowled. "She's glaring at _you,_ not Makoto."

"Why would it do that unless traumatized from the experience of being abducted? It doesn't even know me!"

"Maybe she's objecting to the way you're falsely accusing her Trainer!"

"There are other indicators that he's the guilty party. Rule number one: 'Whoever did it will come back to the site—'"

"What kind of idiotic rulebook is that!?"

"…Is there a problem?" Professor Elm interrupted. The commotion seemed to have gotten his attention at last. The police officer stood beside him with his eyebrows raised.

"The paparazzi are harassing Makoto." Kotone let out an indignant huff.

"Ah, Makoto!" The professor brightened at the sight of him, who by now was trying his very best to sink into the floor. "I'm glad you and Kotone have both made it back safely. I was beginning to worry you'd lost your way."

"This boy has stolen a valuable Pokémon from your lab," the reporter announced, "and recruited this girl to defend his crimes—"

"What?" The professor frowned. "Makoto wouldn't do something like that. I gave him that Pokémon as a gift."

"Come on, now!" The officer spoke with exasperation. "The man's said repeatedly that the Pokémon stolen was a Chikorita, not a Totodile."

Without warning, Makoto felt a stab of pain in his chest. He looked down and saw Kani with the same glint of pain in her eyes as she had after the battle. He stooped slightly to brush the top of her head, concerned. She didn't respond to the contact, but she didn't move away from him either, which he took as a sign that he could keep petting her.

"Well—that—" the reporter blustered, struggling vainly to come up with more evidence to back up his accusations. The officer turned his back on him and spoke to the rest of the group.

"I spoke with the professor earlier, and so far we have no leads as to who could have stolen the missing Pokémon," he said grimly. "We were hoping we could discuss it with you, Makoto. Did you see anyone suspicious on your way to and from Mr. Pokémon's house?"

"Actually," Makoto began, grateful to speak to someone who wouldn't counter him at every turn, "I battled someone with a Chikorita on the way back to New Bark."

"What? Why didn't you say so earlier!?" Professor Elm yelped. "This could solve the case in an instant!"

"What did he look like?" The officer's tone was much more businesslike.

"He was pretty tall…and a few years older than me, I think," Makoto answered. "He had silvery-gray eyes and bright red hair—"

"Red hair?" Kotone cut him off. "Gray eyes? Are you sure?"

"Oh, yeah." Makoto nodded. "It was kind of unmistakable."

She stiffened. "That can't be."

He shrugged. "I'm just telling you what I saw."

"What kind of boy has bright red hair?" the reporter muttered from behind them. "I've never seen anyone like that. He's probably making it up."

No one paid any attention. "Did you happen to get his name?" the police officer questioned.

"Yes, I saw it on the back of his Trainer card. It's Silver."

"I see…" The officer wrote on a notepad of his own. "This will make the investigation go much smoother, and hopefully we'll track him down quicker."

"Thank you so much for your time," Professor Elm said gratefully. "If you receive any new information…or if anything happens…"

"We'll contact you right away." The officer gave a crisp nod and headed for the door. The reporter, who everyone had all but forgotten about, cast them a sour look and left as well. Kani snapped at his heels as he passed. He ignored that too.

"Kotone?" Makoto addressed his friend tentatively. She hadn't said a word for several minutes, which was unlike her. "Is everything alright?"

"What?" Kotone blinked and turned to look at him. She seemed to have been deep in thought about something, which was even more unlike her. "Yes, everything's fine. Don't worry about me."

"If you say so…"

"I do say so." Kotone gave him a friendly shove. "Hey, I'm glad you seem to be off the hook about this whole thing, but I have to go now, okay?"

"That's fine. What about our race?"

"What race?"

Now Makoto was really starting to get worried. "You know…our race to Violet City?"

"Wh—oh yeah! It's still on, of course." Kotone gave him an absentminded wave. "I've got to go now, to…find Riri. If you're lucky, I'll give you another head start. See you!" She turned and practically sprinted out of the lab. Makoto watched her departure, wondering what was up with her.

"Now that that's all settled…" Professor Elm let out a heavy sigh. "Well, we may as well move on to some happier news. What was Mr. Pokémon's big discovery?"

"Oh yeah…" Makoto rummaged through his bag and pulled out the egg. He held it out for the professor to see. "He gave me this. I think it's a Pokémon egg."

Professor Elm took it, looking puzzled. "A Pokémon egg? This isn't anything I've ever seen before…still, it does seem to be…just an egg." He turned to place it on his desk. "But since he gave it to us, we should at least try and find out what secret it holds. I'll hang onto it for now."

Makoto nodded, paused, then spoke again. "Professor Oak was there too. He gave me something called a Pokédex…"

"What!?" Professor Elm whirled around to face him, looking astonished. "Professor Oak did that? That's…that's incredible!"

"How come?"

"Makoto, this is Professor Oak we're talking about! He is superb at seeing the potential of people as Trainers…and to give you something like a Pokédex is a big deal!"

"Really?" Makoto said hopefully. Perhaps he had managed to redeem himself in the eyes of the star Pokémon professor after all.

"Absolutely!" Professor Elm stared at Makoto for several moments, as if seeing him in a new light. "Well…this changes the situation quite a bit, doesn't it?"

"Erm…it does?"

"I knew you were a little different," Elm went on. "You've had your Totodile for such a short time, and already she seems to have warmed up to you quite a bit… Goodness, I couldn't get that Pokémon to act friendly with me no matter what I did, and I've taken care of her much longer than you have! She's a challenge, that one!"

"Kani's been great," Makoto said at once, feeling defensive for the first time in response to the professor's words. "She battled a nest of Caterpie all on her own, and she took on that other Trainer's challenge without even hesitating."

"I'm not criticizing your Pokémon, Makoto!" Elm said hastily. "But don't you see? That reaction you had to defend her, and speak well of her—it's instinctive! You don't even think about it! It's obvious how much you already care about her, and that's one of the most important qualities a good Trainer can have. Professor Oak saw it, and I'm sure your Totodile did as well."

Makoto looked from Kani to the professor and back, feeling an odd sense of pride that he hadn't before.

"Now, I have a proposal for you," Elm went on. "You have talent…you have a Pokémon…so why don't you take the Pokémon Gym challenge?"

"Pokémon Gym challenge?" Makoto blinked.

"That's right," Elm affirmed. "There are Pokémon Gyms scattered all around the Johto region. Challenging each Gym Leader would require a lot of skill, but I think you have that skill. Once you've beaten them all and won all the badges, you could proceed to the Pokémon League and challenge the Elite Four there. Winning against them and the Champion would make you the strongest Trainer in the region…but you don't have to think about that now!" he added, seeing the daunted expression on Makoto's face. "Just take it one step at a time. Becoming the Champion is a huge goal, but it's far off. Focus on challenging the Gyms for now. The closest and easiest is the one at Violet City—"

"Wait a second!" Makoto interrupted desperately. "I haven't even agreed to this yet…how would I know what to do, or where to go next? I've never even been past Cherrygrove on my own before today!"

"You'll have a map, and a phone, and people to ask for help from along the way," Professor Elm assured him. "It would certainly be a long journey, but one that I feel you're ready to take on. Ultimately, of course, it's your decision."

Makoto took a moment to let this sink in, feeling more than a little overwhelmed by the prospect of suddenly leaving his home for an indefinite period of time. Whatever the professor might say, he certainly didn't feel like he was in any way prepared for a journey across the region. Still, he couldn't deny that the idea was at least somewhat appealing. He was a brand new Trainer, after all; the experience he'd gain would be worth it, at the very least.

"Besides," the professor pointed out, "you won't be on your own. You'll have your Pokémon with you."

_That's right…_ Makoto smiled, his confidence rising. _How could I have forgotten? I'm not alone. As long as I have Kani, I—_

He looked down and saw empty space where his Pokémon had been. He blinked, breaking out of his reverie. "Where'd she go?"

"Oh…she must have slipped over there while we were talking." Elm pointed across the room to where Kani stood, hands pressed against the side of the machine holding the final Poké Ball. There was glass around the machine now, to protect the remaining Pokémon in its capsule from harm. "I wonder what she's doing?"

Though he couldn't see her face, Makoto all of a sudden felt a strange urgency, a desire and frustration that was not his own. Hesitantly, he addressed Professor Elm.

"Could…could Kani speak to the Pokémon in there?"

Elm looked mildly surprised, but consented. "I don't see why not." He walked to the machine and pressed a series of buttons, making the glass slide upward and vanish. When he released the Cyndaquil, Makoto immediately sensed relief and gratitude and knew he had made the right decision.

"Let her talk to her friend," said Elm, moving away from the machine towards a couple of chairs. He gestured for Makoto to sit. "In the meantime, we should discuss the matter of the Pokémon Gym challenge more thoroughly."

…

"To tell you the truth…I don't think there's a lot we can do about it."

Kani glowered. "Why not!?"

Cyndaquil sighed. He had explained this dozens, if not hundreds of times to her before. She never listened. "He's already chosen her. He picked up her Poké Ball, left with her, and battled with her. Like it or not, he is her Trainer now. Chikorita knows it too."

"But he mistreats her!" Kani persisted. "She doesn't want to be with him, I know she doesn't!" She curled her claws into fists, remembering Chikorita's expression as they fought. _I've never seen her look like that before…_

"She doesn't have a choice," Cyndaquil said patiently. "And neither do we. You need to learn to let things go when there's nothing you can do about them."

Kani clenched her teeth, wondering why she had thought that he would say anything different. She shouldn't have expected anything less from the calm and logical Cyndaquil, so emotionless he could be a machine! She turned away from him, growling. "Forget it. You're useless."

"And you're impulsive," Cyndaquil retorted. "Spontaneous, reckless, and easily worked up. I've known you a long time, Totodile."

"Call me by my name," she snapped.

"Which means you're probably going to do something foolish, like trying to save Chikorita on your own. And you'll never admit that it's impossible."

"Shut up!" Kani whirled around again to face him, teeth bared in a snarl. She couldn't believe that only minutes ago, she was feeling glad to see him. "You have no right to say any of that! You never cared about Chikorita—you never cared about anything! It doesn't matter to you whether she's saved or not!"

For a moment, Cyndaquil's eyes seemed to darken. "I care as much as you do. The difference between us is that I'm willing to acknowledge the truth when it's right in front of my face."

"You're giving up before you've even started!"

"There's nothing to start!" There was an edge to his voice now that Kani had never heard before. "Just as you are bound to your Trainer, Chikorita is bound to hers and will be until _the Trainer himself_ decides otherwise—"

"Shut up! Just shut up already. I don't want to hear your voice."

"That's what you do, isn't it?" Cyndaquil went on coldly. "You don't like what you hear, so you refuse to listen. You just hide from reality."

"And you're a spineless coward," Kani snarled. "I was right. Our promise meant nothing to you."

"Chikorita is gone, Totodile. There's nothing—"

"_Call me by my name!_" Whether it was his refusal to address her properly or the indifferent way he spoke of Chikorita that sent a renewed surge of fury through her, Kani wasn't sure. All she knew was that she was suddenly lunging towards her former friend with the intention of tearing out his throat.

Cyndaquil dodged her attack without hesitation, almost as if he had been expecting it. Kani opened her jaws and sent a stream of water straight at his head. He ducked and rolled away from the jet; Kani leaped for him again and found herself slashing at empty air. She landed rather awkwardly and rose to face him, seething.

Cyndaquil was several feet in front of her. He looked as calm as ever. "I'm not going to fight you."

Kani lunged for him again. He dodged. She lunged. He dodged. She shot another Water Gun attack at him. He dodged that too.

_He's too fast for me,_ Kani realized as she fought to strike him even once. _He knows he can't beat me, so all he'll do is dodge. He won't even fight back._

For some reason the thought only made her angrier. Kani continued her attacks, and Cyndaquil continued to evade her, sometimes leaping to and from high surfaces or rebounding off walls to avoid her claws and teeth and jets of water. The chase seemed almost surreal, a twisted version of the play-fights they used to have together, when they were still a group of three.

One particularly loud crash—caused by Kani and Cyndaquil upending a table—sent Makoto and Professor Elm running. "What on earth—?"

"Kani, what are you doing?" Makoto cried, racing forward towards the two sparring Pokémon and narrowly avoiding a stream of water from Kani's jaws as she tried and failed yet again to hit the Fire Mouse Pokémon. He reached down and grabbed her before she could begin the chase anew. "I thought you were talking to your friend, not starting a fight!"

_He's the one provoking a fight!_ Kani struggled against Makoto's grip, snarling in rage at the completely impassive expression Cyndaquil wore. She wanted to force some kind of emotion onto his face, to make him feel something, _anything,_ but Makoto still held her prisoner so she settled for glaring hatefully at Cyndaquil as Elm sealed him back inside his Poké Ball. Just before the red beam struck, Kani thought she saw something flicker in Cyndaquil's eyes—anger, or sorrow, perhaps—but then he was inside his Poké Ball and back in the machine and Kani was convinced she had imagined it. _I hope I never see him again,_ she thought, seething in Makoto's arms as he apologized for the mess she and Cyndaquil had made in the lab. _I was right all along._

A memory flashed through her mind—a memory of fire and blood and a still green shape. She clenched her teeth together.

_I never should have forgiven him in the first place._


	3. Chapter 3

"Geez…what was that all about, Kani?" Makoto asked as they stepped outside. "You seemed relieved about talking to your friend again, so I left you alone…the next thing I know, you're attacking him right in the middle of the lab!" He shook his head, sighing. "Well, I guess you can't really answer anyway…"

Kani looked away. She had always known about the language barrier between herself and humans, but had never really stopped to consider just how irritating it would be. For once, she actually did want to talk—to explain what had happened with Cyndaquil and why she had acted the way she did.

Of course, that would mean explaining everything that had happened before then, too…and she supposed she didn't really want to get into that.

Makoto actually sealed Kani inside her Poké Ball before going to say goodbye to his mom. _He must think I'll destroy another houseplant,_ she thought to herself. But she knew that wasn't the real reason. After a full day of her hostile behavior, and the violent display back in the lab, Makoto's confidence in her was probably starting to slip. He was undoubtedly worried that she'd lash out at his mom too. Normally this wouldn't have bothered Kani in the least, but for some reason the thought of her Trainer not trusting her added to the mix of unpleasant feelings that had been swirling around in her head all day.

They spent the night at Makoto's house, Makoto in his bed and Kani in her Poké Ball on top of his desk. Dinner had been rather unremarkable, at least for her; Makoto ate with his mom downstairs and discussed his upcoming journey with her while Kani stayed in the bedroom. There was some Pokémon food stashed in the cupboard, so Makoto had let her out temporarily and brought it to her in a bowl to eat upstairs. It was the same stuff Elm had fed her and Chikorita and Cyndaquil at the lab. It didn't taste any better than it had then.

Kani was restless that night, though she had slept inside her Poké Ball dozens of times before. Whether is was due to the unfamiliar environment, or her churning thoughts, or the fact that she had already slept several hours that day in Mr. Pokémon's cabin, she found herself unable to sink into the blank nothingness she so desperately needed. When she did sleep, her dreams were sharp and vivid and painful and sometimes so distressing that they woke her right back up again. By the time morning came, Kani was so exhausted she felt like she hadn't gotten any rest at all.

Makoto's mother fussed over him as he was getting ready to leave. "Be careful out there," she said as he put on his cap and jacket and lifted his backpack onto his shoulders. "Watch out for aggressive Pokémon, and make sure you have enough supplies with you, and stop by at Pokémon Centers often, and—"

"Mom, relax, I'll be fine," Makoto interrupted, smiling good-humoredly. "I've got Kani with me. Nothing bad's going to happen."

"I know, I know," his mom sighed. She paused, looking at him for a moment, then stepped forward to wrap him in a hug. "Remember to call me whenever you get the chance."

"I will, honest," Makoto promised. "And you remember that if you haven't heard from me in a few days, it isn't because some terrible thing's happened to me. Being a Trainer is time-consuming, you know."

She laughed, releasing her son and practically shoving him out the door. "Alright, I got it. Now, go on! Get out of here and go have an adventure!"

…

That scene had taken place early that morning, a little over an hour ago. Since then, Makoto and Kani had stopped by Elm's lab once more and then retraced their steps back down Route 29. Kani, who had been let out of her Poké Ball again after leaving the lab, watched in confusion as Makoto veered off the traditional path and into the grass. "Come on," he called to her. "It's time we began training on our own for a bit."

_Our first training session, huh…_ Kani thought to herself, shaking off the last of her fatigue as she went to follow him. _I hope he knows what he's doing._ She might actually be able to learn something useful now that she had a Trainer of her own.

Once they had ventured a little farther into the grass and away from the road, Makoto stopped and turned to face his Pokémon. "Okay. So. Um…" He hesitated as Kani looked up at him expectantly. "…Yeah, I don't really know what I'm supposed to do next."

Kani suppressed a hiss of exasperation. "Figures," she growled instead. Makoto couldn't understand exactly what she had said, but he got the gist of her reaction well enough.

"Er… I guess we should start with the basics," he went on falteringly. "Um… I assume you already know how to Bite?"

The Big Jaw Pokémon cast him a withering glance. She picked up a rock, placed it in her mouth, and bit down, causing it to crack straight down the middle. Then it shattered into a hundred miniscule pieces. Kani looked back up at her Trainer as the bits of rock fell back to the ground with a look that said, _That answer your question?_

"Ahaha…yeah. Okay then." Makoto scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "How about your Water Gun technique? How strong is it?"

Kani stared at him blankly. Makoto tried to elaborate.

"I mean," he went on, "could the sheer force of it push back an opponent if it were trying to attack you? Could it knock over someone bigger than you?"

Kani tilted her head, confused. Was he asking her to demonstrate? She shrugged; only one way to find out. She breathed in, her jaws parting, then let loose a powerful stream of water right at her Trainer's head. Makoto yelped in surprise, reaching up to shield himself from the water and stumbling backwards. "Wait, no, that's not what I—"

Before he could finish the sentence, he tripped over a rock and fell backwards, landing flat on his back. Kani stopped assaulting her Trainer and came up to where he now lay on the ground, slightly concerned she might have actually done him some damage. Makoto lifted his head, now sopping wet, and groaned. "Ow…"

"Need some help?"

Makoto looked up from his position on the ground to see a young brown-haired boy wearing shorts, a yellow T-shirt, sneakers, and a solid blue cap grinning down at him. A Rattata stood at his feet. Both Makoto and Kani recognized the pair at once.

"Gorō!" Makoto exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was on my way to Elm's lab," the boy explained, "when I saw the two of you over here in the grass. It looked like you were having some trouble trying to train Totodile, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to come help out."

Makoto grimaced, sitting upright. "We weren't doing _that_ badly, were we?"

"Let's just say you're in need of a few tips," said Gorō, reaching out a hand and pulling Makoto to his feet.

Meanwhile, Kani was greeting the purple Mouse Pokémon in her own manner. "About time you got here," she growled as he came up to her. "Makoto has no idea what he's doing. What took you so long?"

"Long time no see, Totodile," Rattata grinned, as easygoing as his Trainer. "Good to see you too."

Kani grunted. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever. And my name is Kani now, by the way."

He nodded. "I'll be sure to remember."

She snorted and turned away, Rattata's friendly and compliant behavior grating at her nerves for reasons she couldn't understand._He was quicker to accept my name than either of my so-called best friends!_

"Do Makoto and Gorō know each other?" she asked, trying to distract herself from the misdirected anger rising towards her former mentor. "They're talking like they've been friends all their lives."

"Well, they have known each other for a while," Rattata shrugged. "Gorō and I live in Cherrygrove, though, so we only ever run into Makoto when we come to help out at the lab."

"Is that where you're going now?"

"Yup," he nodded. "Or at least, we were, before Gorō decided to come join you. Speaking of which, I should probably get him to stop socializing long enough to actually help." Rattata turned and clawed lightly at his Trainer's feet.

"Hm?" Gorō looked down. "Oh, sorry, Rattata…I guess you're starting to get a little impatient. We'll start training now."

"What exactly are we going to do?" Makoto asked warily, brushing a few stray strands of wet hair from his eyes.

Gorō shrugged. "From what I know about Totodile—Kani, sorry—already, and judging by her earlier display," (Makoto flushed slightly at that), "brute strength has never been her problem. What she needs to work on most is accuracy and agility—so that she has the ability to take down opponents that are faster than her." He paused, shooting her a sideways glance. "I've tried working on it with her before, but she can be…difficult to train. She likes to stick to her comfort zone and focus on her strong points rather than improving her weak ones."

Kani growled mutinously under her breath. Sure, Gorō and Rattata had tried to work on those things with her, but she had never felt that she was improving. If Rattata lunged forward at her in a Quick Attack, no amount of ducking and weaving away from the blow would help her to avoid it. She simply wasn't a Pokémon built for speed, and in her mind, that had been the end of it. Ultimately, during their practice sessions, she always reverted back to her original strategy to take her opponent down—endure the first strike and retaliate once the opponent was close—instead of the various techniques Gorō had attempted to teach her.

"But that doesn't always work very well," Gorō went on. "Even if she can endure the hits and strike back after, the damage eventually adds up and her battle performance starts to fall. And if she were ever on the offensive against a faster opponent who refused to attack in the first place, she would never be able to strike him. He'd just dodge all her initial attacks until she got tired and take her down then."

For a moment Kani wondered if Gorō had somehow learned about her fight with Cyndaquil. She dismissed the thought almost immediately; after all, who could have told him? All the same, the scenario he was describing sounded remarkably similar to what had actually happened back at the lab, and Kani looked away uncomfortably as she realized the truth in his argument for the first time.

"So therefore," Gorō concluded, "I think the best thing to do would be to try to work on speed and accuracy again. What do you think?"

Makoto blinked, momentarily confused as to why his opinion was being asked. "Wait, what?"

Gorō smirked. "Come on, you're the Trainer, Makoto. What do you think Kani should do first?"

"Um…" Makoto thought it over. He had seen the tail end of the fight in the lab; even in that moment of panic he had clearly noticed that Kani was unable to strike her friend even once, and it wasn't from lack of trying. Cyndaquil had dodged each one of her attacks, be it a jet of water or a slash from her claws, and had emerged from that little scuffle completely unharmed. In that particular case, Makoto was glad Kani hadn't been able to cause Cyndaquil any permanent damage, but in the future…against an opponent she needed to defeat…

"I think she needs to work on the velocity of her Water Gun move," he decided. "If she were able to shoot out a thinner and more condensed stream, there would be less of it at once but it would reach the target a lot quicker. She'd be able to hit faster opponents who are trying to dodge."

Gorō crossed his arms over his chest. "You know, I hadn't even considered that. It'd probably work, though. Rattata!" The Mouse Pokémon's ears twitched as he looked up. "Work with Kani and try that strategy out. Don't attack her, just run and try to avoid the water."

"You know what to do, right?" Makoto asked his Pokémon, putting a hand on her head. "Use a thinner and faster Water Gun on Rattata, so that you can hit him while he's running." Kani grunted and moved away from him, not much wanting to be touched right now, but nodding once to show that she had understood.

"Alright, Rattata—go!" Without warning, Rattata shot forward like a bullet, running in one direction and then another, staying well within range of Kani's Water Gun but never getting close enough for her to strike him with claws or teeth. Makoto shouted a command but Kani was already a step ahead of him; taking note of the purple blur running around her in circles, she opened her mouth and sent a jet of water at Rattata as he passed her left side. He ducked away from the stream and kept running. Frustrated, she tried again, trying to make the water thinner, but to no avail; the water came out the same as before and Rattata evaded it easily. This happened no less than twelve more times in rapid succession before Kani finally gave up, clamping her jaws shut and sitting down. Rattata slowed to a halt and looked at her curiously.

"Come on, Kani," Makoto urged. "You have to keep trying."

She glared at him. _Why don't you come try this for yourself and see how well you do?_

Rattata crept up to her cautiously. He had seen her in moods like this before plenty of times. "You can do this, Kani," he told her. "Honestly, you can. Just focus on making the stream thinner for now. Don't worry about trying to catch me."

Kani glanced up and met the encouraging eyes of Rattata, Gorō, and then her Trainer. Sighing, she pushed herself back to her feet and stood still, trying to think. How exactly was she supposed to make the water thinner? It didn't seem to matter how hard she concentrated, the water was always released in the same way and never reached its target in time. She thought back to exactly how the attack felt when she used it against Cyndaquil and Rattata, the water streaming upward through an opening in her throat and past her gaping jaws… Surely the way to release the water in a thinner stream would be to make that opening smaller, but she didn't seem to have the ability to do that.

Wait. She paused, getting an idea. If she couldn't make the opening in her throat smaller, then maybe…

Drawing up more water from the back of her throat, she parted her jaws just a crack and shot out another stream of liquid. A laser-thin jet escaped from between the gap in her front fangs and hit the ground with such force that it formed a small hole in the dirt. Triumphant, Kani turned to Rattata, a sudden grin on her face. There was a pause that lasted approximately 1.4 seconds before Rattata took off, darting and weaving around Kani just like he had before. Kani wasn't fazed; in less than a heartbeat she had swiveled around and sent another thin jet hissing between her teeth. Rattata twisted in the air to avoid it, but this time the jet was too fast, and it hit him right on the tip of his tail.

Rattata fell to the ground and rolled to a stop. He sat up, flicking his tail and wincing. "Ouch…that stung!"

Kani walked up to him, feeling rather pleased with herself. "Better?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, much better! That was great! My tail kinda stings, but I'll live."

"Well done!" Gorō called from the sidelines. Makoto shouted his own praise, his eyes glowing with pride.

"Now that you've found a way to do it," continued Gorō, "see if you can hit Rattata dead-on instead of just his tail. With a few more tries, you should be able to time it perfectly!"

It was closer to afternoon by the time Kani perfected the technique. Rattata collapsed into the grass in exhaustion, numerous pinpoints on his body stinging rather painfully. Kani cocked her head at him. "You okay over there?"

"Rattata, you all right, buddy?" Gorō added anxiously.

"I'm fine," he panted, wincing as he sat up. "Just a little—ow—tired. Those Water Guns weren't exactly pleasant."

"…Sorry?" Kani wasn't sure whether or not she should feel guilty.

"No, don't apologize! You were great!" Rattata insisted. "You did everything you were supposed to do. The fact that I'm tired and in pain is a good thing," he said, grinning at her.

"In any other context, that would sound incredibly masochistic," Kani muttered, but she couldn't help grinning back. This was a groundbreaking achievement for her; she had actually mastered a strategy Gorō and Rattata had taught her. Despite her previous obstinacy, she knew this new style of Water Gun would come in handy. Makoto crouched down beside his Pokémon, petting her head as he praised her happily, and this time Kani let him.

…

She woke in confusion, her mind fuzzy with sleep, drawing in breath to call out for her dearest friend before remembering that she could no longer reach her. The memory drove a spear through her heart that hurt more than the wounds on her sides. Ignoring the pain, she stood, trying to find out where she was and where her master had gone.

Where she was appeared to be deep in the woods, on top of a bed of damp leaves and underneath a canopy of trees so thick it blocked out the sun. She shivered. The light from the sun's rays energized her, made her feel alive; without it, she was left feeling weak and cold.

Her red-haired master was sitting against a nearby tree, eyes closed. He didn't appear to have noticed her wake, and she was so tired that for a moment all she wanted was to just lie down and go back to sleep. Then he stirred, and his eyes blinked open and focused upon her, and she knew any chance she'd had to get more rest was now over.

Silver's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at her. "You're awake," he said quietly. "Good. Come here."

Chikorita took several tentative steps towards him, the tone of his voice making her feel uneasy. Her empty Poké Ball lay on the ground a few feet away. He had probably let her out sometime during the night so that he would hear her when she woke. Silver sat up on his knees as she approached, waiting until she was less than an arms-length away from him. Then he drew his hand back and smacked her with such force that she was knocked over into the dirt with a cry. "That was for yesterday's battle," he spat, standing up. "You were a complete disgrace."

Chikorita lay on the ground, the side of her face throbbing from Silver's slap. His words sent an additional current of hurt and shame through her so strong she could barely breathe.

"Get up," Silver commanded, looming over her. Shaking, Chikorita struggled to her feet, trying to pull herself together and fight the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.

_He's right…_ she thought. _I'm a disgrace. I failed my Trainer in my very first battle._

Silver began pacing around her slowly, an unreadable expression on his face.

_But…but I couldn't hurt Totodile…_

The name unlocked the tears she was so desperately trying to hold back. Chikorita looked away as her vision blurred. If he saw her crying, he would probably hit her again.

Eventually Silver stopped his pacing and said, "I don't know how that idiot Elm takes care of his Pokémon, but I'm going to train you properly." He took a step back, his arms crossed. "Let me see that Vine Whip move of yours."

Chikorita took a deep breath to steady herself and then did as she was told, lashing out with a green whip and hitting it against a nearby tree trunk with an audible _smack._ She looked up at Silver hopefully. _How was that, Master?_

He snorted. "Weak. Do it again."

Chikorita wilted slightly at her Trainer's scorn, but her disappointment was replaced quickly with determination. _I'll get it right this time!_ Turning, she lashed out with her whip and hit the tree again. _Smack._

"Again!" he ordered.

The whip hissed through the air.

_Smack._

"Again!"

_Smack._

"Again!"

_Smack._

This went on for several minutes before Chikorita collapsed, gasping for breath. She had never trained like this before, and her stamina was running out even faster than usual due to the lack of sunlight. She hoped she had at least managed to impress her Trainer with her efforts.

Silver made a disgusted sound, and her heart sank. "This is ridiculous. You're just doing the same thing over and over. You have to put more power into it; Vine Whip can be a deadly technique if used properly."

_Deadly?_ Chikorita froze, her eyes widening in fright. "No, I don't want to kill anybody!" she tried to protest, but the words stuck in her throat and came out as a frightened whimper.

Silver ignored her, scanning the forest. Then he gestured to a cluster of bushes in the distance. "There's a wild Pokémon over there. Go attack it."

Chikorita looked up at her master helplessly. _But I've never…_

"Now!" he snapped. "Maybe you'll be able to improve against a real opponent."

Chikorita trembled, but complied, turning in the direction Silver was pointing. When she looked hard enough, she could just make out a brown shape hidden in the undergrowth, propped up on its tail and holding itself perfectly still. She tried to approach it stealthily, moving slowly so as not to make any loud noises, but when she accidentally stepped on a twig the sound caused the Sentret's whole body to swing around towards her. "Halt! Who goes there?"

She took a step forward. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Then she leaped.

The Sentret let out a shrill cry as Chikorita knocked it to the ground and pinned it down. Within seconds several others of its kind rushed out of various hiding places, causing Chikorita's heart to stop at the prospect of fighting so many. Fortunately, she wouldn't have to. The many Sentret looked at her with wide eyes for half a heartbeat and, true to their nature, fled the scene as fast their legs could carry them. Her relief was fleeting as she remembered she still had to take care of the one she held trapped against the ground.

"Now!" Silver shouted from somewhere in the background. "Do it!"

Chikorita obeyed. This time, to her surprise, the whip made a satisfying cracking sound that resounded across the entire forest. The Scout Pokémon let out a startled cry of pain.

"That's it!" Silver sounded pleased for the first time. "Keep doing that!"

Chikorita looked down at the Sentret. Its eyes were filled with fear. In that split second she wanted nothing more than to run away, to run and keep running and never come back. _I don't want to hurt anyone, not like this!_

Clenching her own eyes tightly shut, Chikorita cried out and struck the Sentret with her Vine Whip again…and again…and again. Each blow became more and more powerful as she became more and more desperate, desperate for the fight to end and for this nightmare to be over. _I'm sorry!_ she wailed internally as she hit the Sentret with another devastating _crack!_ and the Scout Pokémon screeched in agony. _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!_

When she finally stopped, the entire world seemed to have frozen. She couldn't move. She couldn't even open her eyes. The Sentret underneath her had stopped moving too.

"Good job," Silver said, coming up beside her. His voice held a note of cruel satisfaction. "You're finally starting to improve."

Chikorita felt thrilled and terrified all at once at the sound of her master's praise. Summoning up all her remaining courage, she tensed and opened her eyes.

What she saw looked nothing like what she had originally attacked. A mangled, bloody shape somewhat resembling a Sentret lay on the ground. Its body was covered with deep red gashes, so numerous that the blood seeping from them masked the large target symbol on its stomach. Clumps of its fur had been torn away and lay scattered on the ground, and its left ear had been ripped right off. Its eyes were no longer filled with terror, but blank and glassy, staring at nothing.

She stood frozen, her breath choking her and her eyes dilating, unable to move or breathe or even begin to comprehend the bloody mass on the ground before her. It had to be fake, some kind of trick, it couldn't be real; perhaps this was all a horrible dream and she would wake from it any second now…

_No,_ a voice hissed from somewhere inside her own mind. _You did this. You did all this._

You're a monster.

And Chikorita screamed.


	4. Chapter 4

It was almost nightfall by the time Makoto and Kani arrived at Violet City. They had parted ways with Gorō not long after Kani perfected her new Water Gun technique, exchanging phone numbers in case one of them needed to contact the other, and proceeded to make their way through Routes 30 and 31. They were met by several stray Trainers along the way, much to Kani's consternation (she was already worn out from her recent training session and didn't much feel like wasting time), but Makoto used these encounters as opportunities to practice fine-tuning some of her existing skills. By the time they entered the city, Kani had managed to increase the strength of her already quite strong Bite, learned to intimidate foes into hesitating and decreasing the speed of their attacks, and found a way to hit flying opponents in midair with her Water Gun from a distance. She was also near the point of total collapse.

"Alright, Kani," Makoto said soothingly as they approached the Pokémon Center. Kani was dragging a little ways behind him, her arms and tail limp and her eyelids drooping. "We're almost there. Just wait a little longer and we can—oof!"

His last sentence was cut off as a figure rushed out of the building and crashed right into him. He took a step backward to steady himself and looked up to see who had nearly just knocked him over. "Kotone!"

"Ah!" The girl's eyes widened in alarm for half a heartbeat. She recovered quickly. "Geez…watch where you're going, Makoto!" Kotone complained, setting her Marill gently down on the ground and crossing her arms. "You almost made me drop Riri."

"…Weren't you the one who bumped into me?"

"Details," she said, shrugging. "You should still be more careful in any case. Anyway, I was just on my way back to New Bark Town."

Makoto blinked. "What? Why? Didn't you just get here?"

Kotone rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I did. And I was at the Pokémon Center for all of two minutes when Professor Elm called me. Said he wanted me back at the lab right away for some reason or another."

"Right away?" Makoto repeated, perplexed. "But it's getting dark. You should at least wait until morning."

She shrugged. "When the professor says come, I come. I don't have to know what the reason is."

The boy grinned. "Okay, come on. What's really going on? You're never this obedient, not even to the professor."

Kotone made a face at him. "I can be obedient when I want to be! Come on, Riri," she added, brushing past him. "We're wasting time here, and it is getting dark out."

The Marill rushed after her, not sparing Makoto or Kani a single frightened glance. "And I beat you, by the way!" Kotone called over her shoulder as she went.

Makoto shook his head, exasperated but also amused. "She's unreal…" He looked down and saw Kani sitting against his foot, fast asleep and probably oblivious to that entire conversation. "And so are you," he added, crouching to scoop Kani gently up in his arms and carry her inside the Pokémon Center.

…

When Kani woke the next morning, she was surprised to find herself lying on top of a soft, cushy surface and nestled within the folds of a thin blanket. She blinked and sat up, shrugging off the blanket—she didn't much like the feel of the fabric against her skin—and saw Makoto stretched out on the floor, lying on his side just a few inches away from her. He was still asleep, silent except for his quiet breathing, and his hand held the corner of the pillow Kani had been sleeping on.

_Why didn't he just put me in my Poké Ball?_ Kani wondered in bemusement. She couldn't help feeling a bit awkward at her sleeping Trainer being so close to her while she wasn't in the confines of her capsule. It wasn't as if the pillow was more comfortable than her Poké Ball anyway. A Poké Ball was designed to appeal to the nature of the Pokémon inside it, so while on the outside it just looked like a red and white sphere, on the inside it provided the illusion of meadows, or volcanoes, or relaxing pools and rushing water. Supposedly they could provide many more different environments depending on the Pokémon, but she had only known about those three based on her own experience and from talking to her friends. Although they were designed to keep the Pokémon from being aware of the real world, it was possible to break through the illusion and interact with people outside the ball if you concentrated hard enough. Kani had gotten so used to talking with Chikorita and Cyndaquil from within each of their Poké Balls that sustaining awareness of the world outside and not submerging herself fully in the illusion was second nature to her at this point. But it was still more comfortable to sleep in her custom paradise than on top of a pillow or wrapped in a blanket.

Despite all of this, despite her sensation of awkwardness and her personal sleeping preferences, the sight of Makoto nearby made her feel oddly content. _What the hell?_ she thought derisively. _That doesn't make any sense. I must be more tired than I thought._

Frustrated, she leaned forward and snapped at the hand clutching the corner of her pillow. Well, it wasn't really a _snap,_ more of a nip. Either way, it made Makoto flinch and instinctively pull his hand back, his eyes opening as the pain of the bite jolted him out of unconsciousness. "Ouch… oh, Kani, you're awake?" He sat up, rubbing the back of his hand. "You didn't have to bite me…"

Kani rolled off the pillow and onto the floor, wanting to be away from close proximity to her Trainer at the moment. The feeling of bizarre contentment had passed; now she was just annoyed. That feeling, at least, was comfortably familiar. She began to relax.

"Well, that wasn't the best wake-up call I've ever had…" Makoto grimaced, turning his head to look out the window. As he did so, he caught a glimpse of a figure moving outside—a figure that looked oddly familiar. "Hey…is that Silver?" he wondered aloud.

Kani's calmness evaporated. "Him—? Where!?" she snarled, running to a nearby chair and using it to clamber up onto the windowsill. She looked out, her hands pressed against the glass; and there he was, unmistakably—a tall red-haired boy walking away from them towards the edge of town. She let out a low growl, every muscle in her body tensing for a fight. Makoto reached out and spoke to her in soft words, but Kani was not to be comforted. Shaking Makoto off, she leaped back down off the windowsill and ran for the doors of the Pokémon Center. They slid open as Kani approached, and she raced outside without hesitation.

"Ah, Kani!" Makoto rose hastily to his feet, grabbing his bag from the ground and tearing after her. "Don't just take off like that!"

By the time Kani was outside and facing the right direction, Silver had disappeared from view. She halted, grinding her teeth in frustration. Makoto caught up to her and bent over to catch his breath, casting her an annoyed glance. "Now look," he began, but before he could get any farther Kani took off again, running in the direction she had seen Silver walking. Makoto let out an exasperated sigh and chased after her again. This time he caught up quickly and stopped in directly front of her, forcing her to skid to another halt. "Enough, Kani! Stop running already!"

Kani glared up at her Trainer. "Get out of my way!"

"If you don't quit making me chase after you, I'm going to put you in your Poké Ball," Makoto threatened, holding up the red and white sphere. Kani held his gaze defiantly for a little while longer, then looked away, seething. Makoto's expression softened. "Look, we'll find him. I just don't want you to get away from me. But we'll find Silver, and your friend, okay?" He crouched down to meet her at eye level. "I promise."

Kani looked at him uncertainly, then sighed. Whether he meant it or not, they were wasting time just standing around. She gave a reluctant growl of consent, moving to get around him and start walking at a reasonable pace. Makoto turned and walked beside her. "From what I saw, I think he was headed for that tower over there," he said, pointing to a building off in the distance.

The building in question was a large pagoda that looked about a hundred feet tall and was made entirely of wood. It had clearly been around for a while, and at first glance it looked as though it would fall apart any moment. When Kani took a closer look, she saw it was shaking slightly—from what, exactly, she couldn't tell.

"Sprout Tower," Makoto read off a sign as they approached. He shrugged. "Can't be too bad, right?"

As they walked up the steps and stepped cautiously inside, Kani took in her surroundings. The interior of the tower appeared to be as old and decrepit as the outside, though if one examined more thoroughly they would discover it was actually designed to be quite sturdy. A giant spine-like pillar stood at the center, shaking from side to side. Makoto paused for a few seconds to stare curiously at it, though Kani was impatient to keep moving.

"Are you fascinated with the mechanics of the Sprout Tower?"

An elderly bald man in a gray robe had come up to them. Makoto nodded, not taking his eyes off the swaying column. "What's it for?" he asked. "The pillar, I mean."

The monk smiled. "The technique is called _jūkōzō._ The pillar is there to act as a support and keep the tower from collapsing. Its flexibility even protects it against earthquakes…and the Pokémon battles on the upper floors, of course."

Makoto glanced up at the ceiling. "So that's what's causing it to shake like that!"

"That is correct," the man agreed. "This tower is dedicated to the gentle and peaceful nature of Bellsprout. The ground floor is where tourists come to see the unique style of which it was built; the upper levels are devoted primarily to Pokémon training. Monks study diligently and train their Bellsprout in the hopes of expressing how all living beings coexist through cooperation."

"Wow…" said Makoto in awe. It was only the sound of one of his pant legs ripping, caused by a certain Pokémon who had decided to tug at the hem of his khakis with her teeth in an effort to get him walking again, that brought him back to the present. "Um, so you said there were battles taking place up there?" he asked, reddening slightly and nudging Kani away.

"Yes, child," the monk replied, frowning. "But most tourists do not choose to visit the upper floors…there are some who insist on including outsiders in their training—"

"That's fine, thanks for the help!" Makoto shouted, already halfway towards the ladder leading to the second level of the tower with Kani right on his heels. When they were gone, the monk shook his head, wondering just why so many young people had taken to visiting the upper floors of the tower lately.

True to the old man's words, nearly every monk they saw demanded that they participate in a "ritual training exercise." And every one of them had a Bellsprout.

_We…don't…have…time…for…this!_ Kani seethed as she sliced at yet another Bellsprout—the sixth, or eighth, or twentieth, she had lost count long ago—with her claws. _At this rate, Silver will be long gone by the time we get up there!_

Finally, _finally,_ they reached the third floor. It was much smaller and less complex than the second, and for a heartbeat Kani thought they'd be able to just walk right across and reach the other side without any further delay.

Then a line of about ten monks stepped in front of them. Kani swore under her breath.

""However hard we battle," the one on the end began in a clear, strong voice.

"The tower will stand strong," said another, going down the line.

"We stand guard here…"

"And train for enlightenment."

"To express our gratitude…"

"And show our respect for all Pokémon."

"If you wish to proceed…"

"You must prove your strength…"

"Your wisdom…"

"And your bond with your Pokémon…"

"Against all of us in battle," the monks all said as one.

Kani, who had been wearing an expression of utmost irritation during that entire speech, braced herself as each monk held up their Poké Balls and threw them together. Each capsule burst open simultaneously, revealing several more Bellsprout and a few Hoothoot ("Something different? I'm in shock," Kani muttered).

"You ready, Kani?" Makoto asked. "There are a lot of them…"

She growled, baring her teeth. "This shouldn't be hard at all."

_~Five minutes of complete and utter pwnage later…~_

Kani stood amidst a heap of unconscious Pokémon on the ground. Makoto beamed proudly as the line of monks stared at her in stunned silence. She stared defiantly up at them, panting slightly from the exertion of fighting ten Pokémon at once, and waited for them to part and let her and her Trainer through.

Instead, the one on the end opened his mouth. "The way you battle is true and elegant," he began, gearing up for another speech.

That did it. Kani was now officially out of patience. Parting her jaws, she spat a Water Gun at the monk in front of her. He sputtered as the water hit him directly in the face, stumbling backward and breaking the formation. Kani rushed forward, shoving through the gap the monk had made in the line. "_Move,_ dammit!"

"Kani!" Makoto gasped, starting after his Pokémon. He paused to apologize profusely to the monk Kani had drenched, then turned and ran after her for the third time that day, leaving the monks to wonder what exactly had just happened.

As Kani approached the other end of the tower at top speed, she caught a glimpse of someone standing with her back to her. When she saw that the figure had red hair, she almost rubbed at her eyes to clear whatever was messing up her vision. She could hardly believe he was still there, after all the time it had taken them to get to the top of this damned Sprout Tower.

"Wait up, Kani!" Makoto's frustrated voice came from behind her. She ignored it. There was only one thing she was focused on right now.

_Hang on, Chikorita!_

She got just close enough to see what was going on. Then she skidded to an abrupt halt, her eyes widening, a choked gasp of horror rising in her throat.

There were two Pokémon that Kani could see. Or at least, what was left of them. The Hoothoot lying on the ground was clearly dead; from the looks of it, the Owl Pokémon had been dealt a killing blow straight across its throat…but that had evidently not stopped its attacker from making numerous additional slash marks across its body, purely for the purpose of causing needless suffering. One cut in particular had nearly severed one of its wings, leaving it to hang limp and useless with only a few strands of sinew connecting it to the Hoothoot's body. The Pokémon standing over this mutilated corpse, on the other hand…

Shock and horror swept over Kani so strongly that for a moment she couldn't breathe. Again, she felt a sudden urge to clear her vision, but this time in the desperate hope that she would see something different. But as her gaze focused directly on the Pokémon who was not lying slaughtered on the ground, she knew, with an icy cold sensation in the pit of her stomach, that she was not mistaken.

Chikorita was covered in blood and perfectly still, not reacting to anything around her or even giving the impression that she was aware of her surroundings. If she hadn't been standing, Kani would have thought she was dead too. For several moments, nothing happened, and there was complete silence in the tower other than the constant shaking of the pillar nearby.

And then, as Kani watched, Chikorita seemed to come back to earth. She gasped, staggered backwards and away from the dead Hoothoot, stumbled and fell. Then, somehow, she began to _laugh;_ a violent, choking laughter that made her whole body tremble and might have also been a scream or a sob or all three at once. The sound coming out of her was so terrible that Kani wanted to clamp her hands over her ears or go somewhere far away to keep herself from hearing it, but instead rushed forward, desperate to reach what had once been her best friend and fix whatever had happened to her to make her like this.

Before she could take more than two steps, Makoto's hands seized Kani around the waist and pulled her back, dragging her behind the pillar. Kani turned on him at once, hissing in rage, but he just gripped her even tighter. "That Chikorita is dangerous," he whispered fiercely. "Don't go near her right now. We'll find some other way."

Furious, Kani turned her attention back to the scene. Chikorita was still making that horrible laughscreamcry. Silver, who Kani had all but forgotten about, stepped forward with a hand held out to the Elder of the tower, who Kani hadn't even noticed before now. "I won." He smirked. "Now give me what you owe me."

The Elder lifted his stunned gaze from his slaughtered Hoothoot to Silver's outstretched hand. "Yes…" he said softly. "Yes… I suppose you did."

Kani let out a snarl as the Elder pulled out a disc and placed it into his hand without another word. How could he treat Silver as though he had just done something good? How could he reward him for ruthlessly killing his Pokémon? How could he just stand there and watch as Chikorita laughed and screamed and cried all at once and her Trainer completely ignored her?

The last part of that statement proved to be somewhat incorrect as Silver walked back to Chikorita and kicked her, sending her sprawling. "Quit making that noise."

Chikorita pushed herself back to her feet, no longer making the laughscreamcry or any noise at all, for that matter. She had fallen completely silent at her Trainer's command.

"Chikorita…" Kani whispered through clenched teeth, her claws curled into fists. _What has happened to you?_

Kani thought the whisper had been barely audible, but no sooner had she breathed out her name than Chikorita's head suddenly swung around to face her. Her breath caught in her throat as, for a split second, she met Chikorita's gaze.

Kani had always remembered Chikorita's eyes as being warm, friendly, inviting, gentle. The reflection of the sweet-tempered soul within. They were the most defining features of her personality, the part of her that had drawn Kani to her that first day. The eyes she saw now belonged to a stranger, not Chikorita, not the Chikorita she had known all her life. These eyes were wild, frenetic, chaotic; they were aggressive and despairing at the same time.

And above all—they were broken.

And as these stranger's eyes met her own, they started to widen in frightful recognition. Chikorita trembled, and her mouth opened and she started to speak in a voice so quiet that Kani could only just barely hear her. The one word she said, and the desperate fear and sorrow in her voice as she said it, made Kani's heart shatter.

"To…to…dile…"

And then the moment was over, and the red-haired Trainer had sealed Chikorita inside her Poké Ball and was walking away. Away from the bloodshed he had caused and towards Makoto, who, strangely, had gasped aloud when Chikorita had spoken, and now rose to his feet, still holding Kani tight to him (which, under normal circumstances, she would have found incredibly irritating at a time like this). He stopped walking when he saw him, and for a moment they just stared at each other, Silver with mild surprise and annoyance and Makoto with anger and a touch of apprehension.

"…You again," Silver said finally. "I thought I told you to stay out of my way."

"I don't take orders from you," Makoto snapped.

"No, but you should still do as I say. You might regret it later if you don't."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean," Silver went on threateningly, taking a step towards him, "if you don't, your Pokémon will get the same treatment as that Hoothoot over there."

Makoto's eyes narrowed, and he gripped Kani still tighter. She, oddly, did not react to this at all. "You—"

"Yeah, I know you saw it. Maybe it'll serve as a warning to you in the future," Silver growled. "Don't bother trying to come after me in some pathetic attempt to get me to see the error of my ways. I don't need to hear that crap from anyone, least of all from someone like you. People who lecture about 'kindness' and 'bonding', like that idiot monk over there who calls himself 'Elder', can never defeat me, and I'll prove it to anyone who tries to stop me from doing whatever the hell I feel like doing."

"Yeah? Then how come Kani and I beat you before?" Makoto retorted.

Silver stiffened, his expression darkening. "That was a fluke," he spat. "I had only just gotten my Pokémon and hadn't had a chance to train it for combat yet."

"Stolen, you mean," Makoto shot back. "And if by 'training', you mean teaching her to brutally slaughter every Pokémon she comes across—"

"That's right," Silver interrupted, a sudden gleam in his eye. "My Pokémon will do whatever it takes to win. That's why, when you insist on battling me, as I'm sure you will, my Pokémon will live—while yours will die."

Makoto fought down the desire to come up with a venomous response and turned away in disgust, not seeing the point in prolonging this conversation any longer. He could feel Silver's cold eyes on his back as he walked back towards the ladder leading down to the second floor, still carrying Kani, and tried to ignore the sudden chill he felt at those last words.

_He's all talk,_ Makoto thought spitefully. _He could never do that to Kani. I wouldn't let him. And she's too tough._

He looked down at his Pokémon, who was still and silent in his arms like a deadweight. She didn't look particularly tough right now.

_She'll be alright,_ he tried to convince himself. _She just needs to rest. And maybe recover from the shock…_

But he knew, as he climbed carefully back down the ladder, that it was more than just shock that was making her like this. He had felt it too, somehow, as he caught up to her, pulled her back behind the pillar, and watched as Chikorita met Kani's eyes and said something that he had not understood but that Kani, clearly, had.

It wasn't disappointment at failing to confront Silver, or revulsion at the Hoothoot's mutilated corpse. It wasn't shock, or horror, or even outright fury. It was the sight of Chikorita in the state she was in, the Pokémon who, Makoto now knew, had meant more to her than anything in the world, being completely out of her reach. It was the result of witnessing her best friend going insane in front of her and not being able to do anything about it.

It was agonizing, despairing, and complete and utter heartbreak.

And if the way she was behaving now was any indication, she would need a long, long time to recover from that.


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of that day did not go well.

Makoto's anxiety for Kani rose as he carried her out of the Sprout Tower, and still she remained silent and motionless. She wouldn't respond when Makoto spoke to her or pet her head—at the moment, she didn't seem to even see him. This, of course, only made him more worried.

But at some point during the walk back to the Pokémon Center, Kani seemed to come back to herself. With a sudden growl, she began struggling in Makoto's arms, causing him to nearly drop her in surprise. He bent to set her gently on the ground, and reached out to her in mixed concern and relief. Kani jerked away from his hand, fixing him with a hostile glare. Makoto blinked.

"Kani," he said uneasily. "What's wrong?"

She snorted and turned to walk away from him, heading back to the Pokémon Center on her own. With a strange sense of disquiet, Makoto followed her.

The Center's nurse took Kani inside, commenting anxiously on how painful some of her injuries looked, and as she did so Makoto noticed just how antagonistic Kani was acting. When the nurse took her from Makoto's arms and started checking the more serious injuries, Kani flinched away and bared her teeth. When she tried to spray a healing potion on her, Kani actually _snarled,_ snapping her jaws shut a hairsbreadth away from the hand holding the medicine. Eventually the nurse gave up, turning to Makoto in distress.

"She won't let me heal her," she said helplessly. "Every time I try, she growls and tries to bite me."

Makoto approached Kani himself, wondering what was going on with her. "Kani?" he started uncertainly. The Big Jaw Pokémon didn't move, just glared at him. "Kani, you have to let her heal you. Your wounds need to be treated. Some of the cuts from those Bellsprout look pretty nasty…" He reached out to her again, slowly, but she was no more receptive than before. With a growl, Kani snapped at his outstretched hand and turned her back on him.

The surge of frustration and desperation Makoto felt at this took a considerable effort to keep hidden. He turned away, staring at the floor to avoid looking the anxious nurse in the eye. "Just…let her sleep it off," he said finally, unable to think what else to do. "Maybe she'll do better after she gets some rest. You can treat her then."

After that, there wasn't much else to do. Kani had consented to sleeping on the pillow the nurse had provided to them that first night (Makoto had been unable to afford lodging), though still stubbornly refusing to let anyone come near her with a potion. Makoto sat against a wall nearby, watching her out of the corner of his eye. He did not understand what was making her act like this. He knew what she had felt when she saw Chikorita up at the Sprout Tower; he was prepared to help her recover in any way that he could. So why wouldn't she let him?

Even on the first day he'd met her, Makoto reflected, she had not behaved like this. She may have been angry, defensive, and disobedient, but she had never been quite so openly _hostile_ before.

He shook his head in unhappy bewilderment. All he could do now was wait until morning, when hopefully Kani would be a bit friendlier again—as friendly as she ever got, anyway.

Unfortunately, neither of them slept well that night. Kani feigned sleep for a while, fearing what she would have to relive in her dreams. Eventually, however, exhaustion claimed even her, and Makoto followed soon after. Kani's rest was continually disturbed by what she had predicted, and as her unrestrained emotions peaked in her nightmares, Makoto felt it too—he felt her despair and her torment and he remembered Chikorita's eyes and what she had said and her laugh that was also a sob and he felt it as vividly as if he had been the one to experience it. And then they both woke up late at night, gasping; and Makoto looked at Kani and she looked back and there was no hostility, only anguish and fear and vulnerability, and he reached out for her in the darkness. But when morning came Makoto could barely remember what had happened and it may have just been part of the nightmare.

Kani seemed unchanged from the day before. The only response she gave to her Trainer's hesitant morning greeting was a sideways glance and a grunt of indifference. The very suggestion of waking the nurse up to heal her injuries earned him a scathing glare and a growl of warning. Makoto sighed, wishing fervently that he had some way of communicating with her effectively. Maybe then he could get her to explain her sudden aversion to getting her wounds treated. Even the way she was now, if he were capable of understanding her words…

A thought struck him. Even though he, a human Trainer, couldn't understand Kani word for word, other Pokémon certainly could. He paused, considering. He hadn't planned on expanding his team—he hadn't ever thought about it much, really. He had wanted to go on this journey with Kani alone. But the more he thought about it now, the more he realized how unrealistic that was. How was he supposed to challenge gyms all over the region with only one Pokémon beside him? As much as he trusted and cared for his temperamental Totodile, he couldn't imagine how he would manage against some of the most powerful Trainers in the world without a full team roster. And if interacting with other Pokémon helped Kani to recover…

Makoto stood suddenly, and his Pokémon looked up at him questioningly. "Come on, Kani," he said, picking his bag up off the floor and slinging it over his back. "We're going outside."

It was past time he captured a new teammate.

…

Ampe walked slowly through the tall blades of grass and out into the sun. He blinked as the heat washed over him, the sunlight illuminating his tail. It was hot out today, more so than usual, but somehow he could tell there would be a storm later—perhaps that very night. He looked around and saw a friend of his lying a few feet away under a tree, and he went over to join her.

"Hey, Ampe," she greeted when she saw him.

"Hey, Mira." He sat down beside her in the shade.

She tilted her head to look at him. "How'd you like the gathering last night?"

Ampe shrugged. "Same as usual."

"That doesn't mean anything," she argued.

"Sure it does," he insisted. "It means I found it vague, boring, and uninformative."

Mira raised an eyebrow. "I thought what we learned from the Gastly was interesting. Or weren't you even paying attention?"

"'Course I was," Ampe retorted. "But those Gastly tend to embellish things a bit. Do you really think a Chikorita would go crazy like that?"

"It does seem a bit extreme," Mira admitted. "But if what they say is true, than whoever is training it must be really dangerous. Besides, remember that Sentret from the other day?"

He remembered, all right. Just two days ago, a lone Sentret had come bursting out of the forest in a fit of panic right in the middle of a group of Mareep, Ampe and Mira being among them. After they forced him to stop and explain what was going on, the distraught Sentret gave them a rather gruesome recount of his brother's murder, which he had apparently just witnessed. He claimed he had no memory of what the attacker looked like, babbled on for a while longer about "evil plots" and "conspiracies", then passed out from exhaustion. At that point, Ampe had had to exit the scene, the Sentret's vivid storytelling drawing up some memories of his own that he didn't want uncovered just yet.

"What's your point?" he said now in response to Mira's question.

"My point is that what he said sounded an awful lot like what the Gastly described. His brother and the Elder's Hoothoot both seemed to have been killed in the same way, with the same level of brutality."

"You're saying that that Sentret's brother was killed by the same Chikorita that killed the Hoothoot?" Ampe shook his head in disbelief. "Come on…do you really believe that? Chikorita aren't known for being vicious. Those Gastly must have exaggerated what happened in the Sprout Tower, and the Sentret was probably just attacked by some wild Pokémon."

"I don't know…" Mira said doubtfully. "They were on their own land, so it wasn't a territorial attack. And if the Sentret had been killed for food, then the hunter would have made it a clean death and eaten the corpse. In any case, there have been reports from other places about strange deaths lately. There was that Pidgey with the cracked beak, and that whole nest of Rattata that got slaughtered a little ways from here, don't you remember? I mean, the Sentret's death is the only one I've heard about firsthand, but I don't think the others are just making it all up, not even the Gastly. It's hard to forget the sight of someone getting murdered right in front of you—"

She stopped, suddenly noticing that her friend had grown unusually quiet. At that last sentence, he stiffened and looked away, and with a burst of horrified comprehension Mira realized what she had just said. "Oh, Ampe, I'm sorry. I'm such an idiot. Forget everything I said." She scooted closer to him so that their fur was touching. Their fleeces rubbed together, sending pleasant static charges along both Mareep's wool. Ampe let out his breath slowly, trying to relax. "Let's just talk about something else," he said finally.

"Of course," Mira said quickly. She thought for a few moments, then quietly said, "Have you thought about what I told you?"

He frowned at her. "Thought you were going to talk about something else."

"Ampe—"

"Something else _entirely,_" he clarified. Then he sighed. "Look, I don't know what I'm going to do right now. I can't imagine living here for the rest of my life, not after…" he trailed off, swallowed, and continued. "But even if I did decide to take off, I don't know where I would go after that."

"That's right," Mira said, seizing upon that subject. "You wouldn't _have_ anywhere to go; you'd just be wandering around. You should just stay here. No one else is going anywhere."

"Yeah, well, that's another reason I do want to leave," said Ampe, looking thoughtful. "None of the others seem to care about the rest of the world at all…but I want to know what's out there. I can't help myself; I'm curious. I always have been."

"Ampe," Mira said sternly. He groaned inwardly, mentally preparing himself for a lecture. "You're going to get yourself in real trouble one day, you know that? It's dangerous outside of the community—you were there at the meeting, you heard it too! What if you met that Trainer somewhere on your little adventure? You talk about the 'rest of the world' like it's some mysterious, marvelous thing, and maybe it is, but it doesn't concern us! Stop dreaming and focus on what you already have."

_It's not as if it's so safe here, you know!_ Ampe bit his tongue to keep from snapping at her and looked at the ground.

"Besides," she went on after a moment, "you're…not exactly the best fighter."

He sighed. "You just _had_ to bring that up."

"Well, of course," Mira giggled. "We both know that with your skills, you wouldn't last a second out in wherever it is you think you'd be going."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Ampe grumbled, standing up.

"Where are you going?"

"Just…for a walk." He wanted to be by himself for a while.

"Ampe," Mira started to protest, then stopped. They had both heard it: A twig snapping from somewhere in the trees to their right.

A young boy wearing a jacket, jeans, a striped cap and a backpack stepped out of the shady path and into the sunlight. A Totodile trailed behind him. Both Mareep relaxed. It was just a Trainer; they were used to that.

What they weren't expecting was for the boy to glimpse the first wild Pokémon he saw—namely, Ampe and Mira—pull an empty Poké Ball out of his pocket, and throw it at them.

Mira gasped and ducked out of the way. Ampe, however, was not so lucky. The Poké Ball struck the end of his tail, pulling him inside, and suddenly he was surrounded by an endless landscape of charred earth; and there were trees with dead limbs scorched by electricity; and the skies were dark with swirling gray clouds and lightning was crackling above him—

"_Ampe, get out of there!_"

He started as Mira's panicked voice cut through the vision, and with a surge of effort he broke through it entirely, causing the fantasy to disintegrate and the real world to rush back in around him as he exploded out of the sphere in a flash of light. He stumbled, disoriented and a bit dizzy. Mira was beside him in an instant, providing the support he needed to continue standing upright.

"What was _that?_" he gasped, still feeling the intensity of the vision.

"What was what?" Mira asked, confused, but that was all the conversation they had time for; with a snarl, the Totodile Ampe had seen before lunged forward with its claws out and teeth bared.

"Kani, stop!" the boy cried out, but the Totodile ignored him. Ampe managed to dodge at the last second, but this time it was Mira who got hit. She fell to the ground with a grunt of pain as the Totodile raked its claws through her fleece. Mira was tough, though, and she retaliated with a powerful Thundershock that sent electricity crackling through the claws in her fleece and into her attacker's body. The Totodile released her and staggered backwards. Then its jaws parted, a Water Gun attack forming in its mouth.

"Wait!" Ampe ran between them just before the Water Gun was fired. The Totodile closed its mouth, glaring at him. "Back off, kid," she growled. Her voice was rough, and lower pitched than he had expected, but clearly female. "Didn't anyone ever teach you not to interfere in someone else's battle?"

"You attacked both of us," Ampe pointed out. The Totodile started to snap out a retort, but he cut her off. "Look, I'm not trying to start another fight—I'm trying to resolve this one. Your Trainer wants to catch one of us, right? Well, take me. I'll come with you willingly."

The Totodile blinked. Mira let out a gasp. "Ampe, no, what are you doing—?"

"I'm leaving," Ampe said, glancing at her over his shoulder. He smiled at the incredulous look on his older friend's face. "It's like you said, isn't it? I can't just go wandering around on my own. I'd have nowhere to go. I could meet someone dangerous and get hurt, or even killed. I'm not a good enough fighter yet to defend myself against someone like the person we heard about yesterday. But with a Trainer…someone who could take me with him and make me stronger…it just about solves all those problems, doesn't it?"

Mira stared at him desperately. "You could still get hurt…" she said weakly, trailing off. It was no good. She knew she had finally lost this argument. She started again in an attempt to at least bring some closure to the conversation they had been having before. "Will…will you be okay? Will you be able to recover?" _Without me?_ she almost added, but decided against it.

"I don't know," he admitted. "But I'll have a better chance of it if I left than if I stayed here all my life. And having a Trainer is the perfect solution. I don't know why I didn't think of it before, really. I guess I just didn't have the opportunity before now." He looked back at the Totodile. "So…will you let me join you?"

The Totodile was silent for several moments. "Go talk to Makoto about it," she growled finally, gesturing towards her Trainer. "It's not my problem."

Makoto, who had watched the Pokémon interact with interest after the fight had been stopped, crouched down to meet Ampe at eye level as the Wool Pokémon approached him cautiously. Luckily, the Trainer was much friendlier than his Pokémon. "You're a Mareep, right?" he asked curiously, pulling out a device from his pocket. Ampe nodded, but there was no need; Makoto pointed the device at him, which beeped before displaying an image of a Mareep on the screen, along with a species description and several other bits of information. He pocketed the strange device again as Ampe stared at it in awe.

"So, you're here…you're not running away…does this mean you want to come with us?" Makoto asked hopefully.

"Yes, I do!" Ampe said eagerly, nodding once just in case the boy hadn't picked up the meaning of his words through his tone.

Fortunately, he understood just fine; Makoto was practically beaming at Ampe's enthusiasm. He held out a hand to the Mareep. "Then welcome to the team!" Ampe placed a front paw into his new Trainer's hand, smiling back at him proudly.

"…I'm really going to miss him," Mira said sadly, her tail dim and hanging low to the ground. Kani only stood and watched as her Trainer and new teammate interacted, her expression stony, and said nothing.

…

After returning briefly to the Pokémon Center for some food and rest, the group headed back outside to train. Makoto was hoping to challenge the Violet City Gym later that day, and Zuki, as Ampe had been renamed shortly after being accepted into the team, was somewhat lacking in battle skills. Kani was unsure how she felt about their newest team member. He was friendly, and his fresh enthusiasm seemed to please Makoto well enough, which might have annoyed her under normal circumstances. At the moment, though, she couldn't bring herself to care. There was only one thing on her mind right now, and everything else just didn't seem to matter anymore.

Emotion swelled up in her inadvertently once again. She gritted her teeth and dug her claws into her palms so hard that they drew blood. The physical pain was distracting. She needed it. There was no way to explain that, though. The pain of her injuries was the only thing blunting the pain of the memory—how could she explain that to someone who had no idea what she was feeling?

She glanced at Makoto, speaking encouraging words to Zuki as he struggled to perform a proper Thundershock. It angered her that he could go on with his life as though everything was perfectly all right. Even worse was the fact that he had gone out to find a new teammate, the reason being, according to him, that he thought having another Pokémon around to talk to might make her feel better. _What, did he think I was going to open up to a complete stranger?_ she thought scathingly. _Or is he trying to find some kind of substitute for Chikorita? "Sorry about your friend going insane, maybe you'll have better luck with this one"?_

The anger rose in her like fire. It felt better than the pain, somehow. A small part of her knew she wasn't being fair. The rest of her didn't care.

A small jolt of electricity struck the ground inches from her feet. She jerked away from it and glared at Zuki, who had been about to take a step towards her to apologize but stopped before she could take a swipe at him. "_Watch what you're doing!_" she spat. "That almost hit me!"

"Eh heh…sorry about that," Zuki said sheepishly.

"That was good, though, Zuki!" Makoto said enthusiastically. "That's the best Thundershock you've performed all day!"

Zuki swelled happily at his Trainer's praise. Despite Kani's bad temper, Makoto was friendly, encouraging, and levelheaded. He didn't know much about Zuki's abilities, but he took what he saw and went with it. He had already witnessed Mira's Thundershock attack earlier, and though Zuki had never once in his life been able to perform one nearly as strong as hers, Makoto had managed to bring out some hidden talent in him that he'd never known he had in less than an hour.

_So this is what having a Trainer is like,_ Zuki thought to himself in satisfaction. _I wish Mira were here to see this!_

He was amazed at his own progress. He could control electricity in ways he never could before. A weak static burst from his fleece was all he had been able to do. Now he could direct it, shape it into something with form, send it arcing through the air toward its target like an electric missile…

Well, maybe he couldn't do that yet. But he certainly had more control than before. He even felt a bit stronger, somehow.

_Don't get carried away,_ Zuki chastised himself. _A Thundershock is nothing special. It's still not even as powerful as Mira's, probably._

Besides… He looked over at Kani, staring at him coldly from a few feet away. The Totodile just didn't seem to like him very much. That was an understatement, he admitted to himself a second later; she _hated_ him, as far as he could tell. In fact, she seemed to hate just about everyone. Zuki couldn't understand it. Why did she snap at him when he tried to make friendly conversation? Why did she glare at Makoto when he had asked her to participate in their training session? Why did she even have a Trainer when she didn't appear to want anything to do with him or her teammates?

He sighed. Kani's presence, though not exactly reassuring, helped to remind him not to get overconfident. His life would largely consist of meeting and fighting all sorts of different Pokémon from now on, and not all of them would be as friendly as Mira or Makoto.

By the time Zuki felt sufficiently ready for his first real battle, the sun had begun to set. The Gym in Violet City closed early in the evening, so this was Makoto's last chance to challenge it that day. Zuki felt both nervous and excited (mostly nervous) at the prospect of challenging a Gym Leader right off the bat—after all, he'd never even fought against another Trainer's Pokémon before! But he tried to calm himself by remembering that this leader was Falkner, a master of the Flying type. Even before he met Makoto, Zuki had fought and even won against bird Pokémon on occasion. His strength against them came naturally, as it did for all his species. And now that he had a Trainer—what bird could possibly defeat him now?

The fact that he had never even liked fighting other Pokémon in the past wasn't a concern to him. He was living a different life now; he accepted that when he joined the team. Zuki had made protecting and fighting for Makoto his first priority—which meant he would have to get used to battling quite a lot from now on.

As they approached the giant building, Zuki felt another rush of apprehension that he quickly attempted to stifle with calm anticipation. It didn't work very well, but he managed to follow his Trainer through the doors of the Gym with an acceptable amount of dignity.

Makoto looked around as the doors slid shut behind them. It was dark inside, and it seemed completely deserted until he looked up and saw the floor above them, which consisted mostly of wooden boards that didn't look particularly stable. But if that was where Falkner was, then that was where he was going to have to go.

"Come on, guys." Makoto beckoned to Kani and Zuki and stepped onto a square platform in the center of the room, which, as soon as the two Pokémon joined him, shot up so suddenly that he had to steady himself to keep from falling. Zuki attempted to do the same, clinging to Makoto's leg, while Kani didn't seem perturbed in the least. _Maybe she's had past experiences of standing on a rapidly rising surface and not falling over,_ Makoto thought arbitrarily. _That or just a really good sense of balance…_

Once this random thought process was over and the platform had reached the top, Makoto stepped cautiously onto the wooden surface. Falkner stood a few meters away from them, his hands in his pockets and a Pidgey on his shoulder.

_This is it… This is where the journey truly starts._

He took a step forward. "Falkner!"

The Gym Leader withdrew another Poké Ball from his pocket. The Pidgey on his shoulder cocked its head to one side.

"I challenge you to a battle!"

Falkner grinned, enlarging the Poké Ball in his hand. "I haven't seen you around here before…but you're lucky, because I was just about to close up the Gym for the night."

"So you'll still fight us?" Makoto demanded.

Falkner nodded. "Yes…I like your spirit." He pressed the button on the red and white capsule, releasing a large raptor-like bird with red-colored plumage—a Pidgeotto. "This will be my last battle of the day." The Pidgeotto hovered in the air for a heartbeat, beating the air with its wings, before settling back down on the ground. The Pidgey let out a squawk, fluttering impatiently.

"So make it a good one!" Falkner gestured to the Pidgey, which took to the air at once and started flying straight towards Makoto in a nosedive.

"Zuki!" Makoto shouted. Zuki leapt forward at once, the air around him crackling with static as he fired a jolt of electricity at the incoming Pidgey. Kani watched as the Tiny Bird Pokémon swerved away just in time and turned in midair to attack Zuki instead.

_"Hi there! What's your name?"_

"We'll see each other again soon!"

"I'm sure of it!"

She narrowed her eyes, furious with herself. _Stop that. Focus on the battle._

"Tackle!" Falkner ordered.

"Zuki, dodge it!" Makoto shouted back.

_"Looks like we got to see each other sooner than I thought."_

Zuki dove out of the way and the Pidgey slammed into the floor instead. It recovered quickly, emitting soft _chit_ noises of frustration.

_"I'm sorry."_

"I don't have a choice."

"I'm so, so sorry, Totodile."

Kani flexed her claws in agitation. It wouldn't stop.

"Quick Attack!"

In a flash, the Pidgey was gone. It reappeared beside Zuki before he could even blink and raked its talons through his wool, causing him to cry out.

_"You're impulsive."_

"Spontaneous, reckless, and easily worked up."

Cyndaquil's voice now, unwanted and uninvited but still there nonetheless.

"Don't let him get away with that! Send a Thundershock through its claws!" Makoto commanded.

_"There's nothing we can do about it."_

"You need to learn to let things go."

Zuki complied, and this time the Pidgey didn't get away fast enough; it let out a screech of pain as the electric shock fried it into submission, and then fell limply to the floor.

Kani stared at Zuki, standing over the unconscious bird, and suddenly the whole area was stained with blood, and the Pidgey on the floor wasn't a Pidgey at all, but a ravaged Hoothoot corpse, and Chikorita was there instead of Zuki, looking at her with the same eyes that continued to haunt Kani in her waking nightmares.

_"To…to…dile…"_

NO. She dug her claws into one of her preexisting wounds, trying to force herself to concentrate. The pain shot up her arm, and she clenched her jaw tight to keep from crying out, but it was no good. It wasn't enough.

If she didn't do something soon, she just might lose her mind entirely.

Falkner recalled the Pidgey and motioned to his second Pokémon. The Pidgeotto flared its wings and shrieked a battle cry.

Right then, something inside her snapped.

And she knew exactly what to take her pent-up emotions out on.

Makoto blinked, a sudden feeling of foreboding cutting into his triumph at Zuki's first victory. He looked down, and saw that Kani was gone. "Kani?" He shifted his gaze back to the battle just in time to see her shoving Zuki roughly to the side, rushing towards the Pidgeotto with jaws parted and claws outstretched.

"Kani, what are you doing!?" Makoto yelled. Zuki let out a cry of surprise. She didn't even hear them. The fury had come from out of nowhere, rising in her like the hottest fire; and Kani took full advantage of it, plunging straight into battle headfirst with a screech of unfathomable rage.

It was the most vicious fight she had ever been in. Never before had she actively tried to hurt her opponent for the sole purpose of causing pain, though she did so now, in the most agonizing way possible. The Pidgeotto was not at fault for what had happened to Chikorita, and somewhere in the distant corner of her mind, she knew this. But at the moment, it didn't matter. Right then, the giant bird she was fighting represented everything in the world that she hated—Silver, Cyndaquil, Elm, Trainers in general, the fate of her best friend, the loss of the only person she had ever trusted and her one emotional outlet, the cruelty of whatever world could allow something like this to happen—and that hatred was currently amplified a thousandfold. And with every savage Bite, with every swipe of claws that tore at the Pidgeotto's feathers, Kani's twisted need to cause pain only grew.

She didn't seem to notice that her opponent was fighting back. She didn't even feel the talons clawing at her, or the point of the Pidgeotto's sharp beak piercing her skin. She wasn't aware of how much abuse she was forcing her body to take, how tired she had been even before the battle had begun. She was entirely lost in her own rage.

Which is why it came a complete shock to her when the Pidgeotto suddenly struck her with a blow so powerful that her body finally gave out when she hit the ground. Kani struggled to rise, but succeeded only in collapsing futilely back to the floor. Horrified, she lifted her head and tried to see what had brought on this renewed strength in her opponent. The Pidgeotto ruffled its feathers, which looked oddly healthy and well groomed despite all the injuries Kani had just given it. "Roost," it growled, fixing her with an icy glare.

What little energy remaining in her was completely drained at the sound of that one word, her anger fading as quickly as it had emerged. Roost. Of course. At some point during that battle, during her fit of rage, Falkner must have shouted out the command, but Kani never heard it. How the Pidgeotto had found the opportunity to heal while Kani was clawing it to shreds, she didn't know. She probably never would. But it didn't matter. The Pidgeotto had endured and recovered from her attack, and she had used up every last bit of her energy trying to defeat it, and failed.

She had lost.

But as the Pidgeotto advanced to finish her off, to ensure that she was thoroughly and completely beaten, Kani saw a blue and yellow blur rush ahead of her out of the corner of her eye. A massive Thundershock hit the Pidgeotto out of nowhere, and it shrieked in pain. Kani looked up dizzily from her position on the ground to catch a glimpse of her savior. "Zuki…?"

The Mareep shot her a wry smile. "Geez, Kani, you're going to get yourself killed… Didn't anyone ever teach you not to interfere in someone else's battle?"

"That's my line," she protested, struggling to get back onto her feet. But it was as useless as the last time she had tried, especially when Zuki pushed her back down to the floor with a paw. "Take a break," he said firmly, charging up another Thundershock as the Pidgeotto staggered upright to face its new opponent. "You've done enough already. Just leave the rest to me!"

_Wait!_ Kani wanted to shout out, but he had already rushed forward, slamming headfirst into the giant bird in a combination of a Tackle and his charged up electric attack. The Pidgeotto retaliated with a Gust that sent Zuki flying, but he jumped up as soon as he hit the ground, ready for more. _Get back here, you stupid…_

The battle continued, but it seemed very distant and far away all of a sudden. Makoto was there too (or at least she thought he was, it was hard to tell), crouching down beside her and shaking her gently. He might have been calling her name, but she wasn't sure. She was having trouble keeping her eyes open. Everything was so _heavy…_

As Zuki and Falkner's Pidgeotto fought, Kani felt her consciousness slipping away. She did nothing to fight it; after all, what did it matter anymore, now that she had lost? She was tired. She wanted to rest.

And Makoto's cries of increasing alarm were the last thing she heard before the world went black.


	6. Chapter 6

She hated it here. Or at least she thought she did.

The sun shone brightly down on the grassy field in which they were all fenced into, with not a single stream or pool or source of water in which to escape from its heat. The field was a wide-open space without even one hidden tunnel or closed-in area to hide in. The solitude she had grown so used to in the few months she had so far been alive was gone, replaced by this large, noisy, chaotic group of strangers she neither knew nor cared to. There was a man, too, a person she had never seen before who was walking through the crowd, sometimes picking out certain individuals and inspecting them. The boy who had brought them all there stood by his side, informing him of the attributes of whoever he selected.

Totodile grunted and turned away, heading for the shade of one of the very few trees in this very large field. She didn't know why she had been brought here, but she hoped she wouldn't have to stay long. She already missed the section of marshland near the river where she had made her home. It was cool, sheltered, surrounded by water, and she was always by herself, save for the occasional intruder (which she always managed to fight off), and the many fish Pokémon she preyed on in the river.

She slumped against the tree, her stomach suddenly growling, thinking that a Magikarp or Goldeen would taste really good right about now. Or a Seaking… No, they were still a bit too big for her to hunt. She had never been able to catch one of those successfully yet.

"Hi there! What's your name?"

Totodile looked up, a defensive growl rising in her throat. The person standing in front of her was a small, light green female Pokémon with a large leaf on her head that was longer than the rest of her body. Her large red eyes blinked at Totodile in friendly curiosity.

"I'm called Chikorita," she went on. "I've met just about everyone here, but you seemed to be the only one by yourself."

Totodile stared at the strange Pokémon silently, unsure of how to respond. She had never been particularly social; there was no need to be. Out in the wild, she let her claws and teeth do the talking for her.

Chikorita blinked at her in puzzlement. "Come on, why won't you say anything?" She took a step closer.

Instinctively, Totodile bared her fangs and snarled, her automatic response to all outsiders who got too close. Chikorita flinched and backed away, looking startled and a bit hurt.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered. "I just thought…well, you were all alone, so I thought you might like some company."

"…" Totodile looked away, feeling slightly guilty at her outburst. This Pokémon was annoying, but clearly not a threat. "I'm Totodile," she said finally, almost too low for Chikorita to hear.

The Leaf Pokémon perked up a little. "It's a nice name."

_Name…_ Totodile considered this. She didn't know what a _name_ was, really; Totodile was just what she was called. All others of her species were called the same thing. It wasn't anything special.

"Anyway…" Chikorita went on cautiously. "How come you're by yourself? There are plenty of others over there who are friendly."

"…I like being alone," Totodile mumbled.

"Why's that?" she asked curiously.

"I just do. It's easier not having to deal with other people."

"Oh." Chikorita looked at the ground. "Have you always been on your own?"

"Yeah. Ever since my earliest memory, as far as I can remember, I've had to fend for myself. I don't even know where my siblings are, if I have any." She did not know why she was saying all this. Her life had nothing to do with this stranger. She was about to tell her so when Chikorita spoke again.

"That's a lot different from me… Before I was captured and brought here by that boy over there"—she gestured to the boy standing next to the man neither of them knew—"I lived in a place a lot like this, and I had a family. A pretty big family, actually. I hope I'll learn to like living here just as much as I did there."

Totodile looked up at her again, startled. "Living…? You mean we're staying here for good?"

Chikorita looked surprised. "Yes, of course. Didn't you know?"

"How could I?" Totodile snapped. A sudden wave of dread was settling over her, and she struggled to conceal it as she slowly grew more and more agitated. Live here? In this hot, bright, grassy place, and surrounded by people she didn't know? Being alone—truly alone—was one thing, but to be alone in a sea of strangers…that was entirely different. Totodile felt herself beginning to panic. She couldn't do it. She would leave, run away, go back on her own. But how? She had no idea which way was home.

"Um…" Chikorita said uncertainly. "Totodile?"

She shook away the rising panic as best she could and focused on the Leaf Pokémon. "How could I?" she repeated. "I was asleep, and then I was in some weird container, and then I was here. No one's told me anything."

"O-oh…" Chikorita toyed with a blade of grass. "Well…I guess I assumed you knew. I was always taught that someday, if I were lucky, a person would come to capture me and raise me as their partner. This wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but…" She gestured to the crowd of Pokémon behind her. "Maybe this is just the set-up, you know? Maybe it's the beginning of something new."

"…I don't want something new," Totodile said quietly. "I don't want to get stuck being some human's 'partner' for the rest of my life. I just want to go back home."

Chikorita hesitated, sensing the emotional barriers around the Big Jaw Pokémon starting to drop. "…Isn't it lonely, though?" she asked finally. "Being alone."

Totodile started at the question. She had never considered it before. Then again, there had never been anyone around to ask. She glanced up at Chikorita briefly, then looked away again. "Of course not. I've always been independent. I told you, I like it that way."

"But it's important to be with somebody!" Chikorita insisted. "I mean, I miss my family, but…it'll be okay if I can make new friends."

Confused, Totodile tilted her head to one side. "Friends?"

She nodded. "Yes! People you like to be around, and talk to, and have fun with. I…I'd like to be friends with you, if you'd let me."

Totodile blinked, startled and a little suspicious. "Me? Why?"

Chikorita smiled then, a smile that lit up her whole face and made her eyes glow with warmth. "Because," she said happily, "I like you."

A strange feeling rose in Totodile's chest as she met Chikorita's gaze, and she drew in her breath at the sensation. It was…warmth? Happiness? Contentment? She wasn't sure. It was new to her, though, and it was confusing. She didn't know how to react to it. She could do nothing but stare rather awkwardly as Chikorita stepped forward once more, extending a long green vine out towards her.

"So," she continued, "will you come with me?"

Totodile blinked at her. She was most certainly not used to this. Chikorita's charm, so open and bright and innocent, was catching her off guard over and over again. A surge of uncharacteristic emotion swept over her, and for the first time in her life, she realized she was beginning to relax in the presence of another. If she had to live here, if she had no choice, then maybe…just maybe…she could trust this Pokémon. Nothing in her life had ever provided her with companionship, and only now was she beginning to realize how much she had wanted it all this time. Chikorita was offering to give it to her, offering her outstretched hand as a gesture of friendship.

Slowly, hesitantly, Totodile reached out and took it.

…

The world came back to her in a blur, the light filtering in through her eyelids and causing her to wince in pain. Kani struggled to regain consciousness by focusing on her surroundings, and realized she was lying on the same damn pillow she had been forced to sleep on for two nights in a row now back in the Pokémon Center. What's more, all of her injuries were healed—Makoto must have had the nurse treat them while she was unconscious. She shook her head slowly to clear it, trying to remember what exactly had happened. They had challenged the Violet City Gym… Zuki had taken out Falkner's Pidgey… Memories of Chikorita had overwhelmed her, and then…

Oh, that's right. She had lost against Falkner's Pidgeotto. She remembered now.

Kani groaned, pushing herself into a sitting position. The sooner she fully recovered, the better, and the sooner they could get out of—

"Kani!" Zuki cried, springing up from beside another pillow next to her. "You're awake!" She grumbled under her breath in annoyance. She hadn't even noticed him there. "Are you alright? Do you need anything?"

"Shut up, I'm fine," Kani growled. She tried to stand up, but the room swayed around her in dizzying circles and she succeeded only in falling back down to the soft cushy surface.

"Don't stand up too quickly," Zuki urged. "You need to rest some more—"

"I told you, I'm _fine,_" she snapped. "Quit fussing over me."

"Well, you're certainly acting like yourself…" Zuki settled back down onto his own pillow. "Makoto's been worried sick about you," he went on. "He's been by your side this whole time. He only left a few minutes ago to get some fresh air."

Kani glanced sideways at him, curious despite herself. "What about you? It's late, and you're tired from the battle. Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I've been worried too," Zuki admitted. "I couldn't sleep."

"Hmph…" She crossed her arms. "There was no reason for you to be."

"That's what you say, but we were the ones that saw you lying motionless on the ground like that," Zuki said, shivering. "Makoto started panicking, and even Falkner was anxious—I mean, if a Gym Leader had killed a challenging Trainer's Pokémon, it could have gotten him into some serious trouble with the Pokémon League—"

"I wasn't going to die!" Kani snapped. Did everyone think she was that fragile?

"You were barely breathing!" Zuki's voice rose as he got more and more worked up. "You were bleeding from about a million different wounds, most of which were there before we even got to the Gym! What were you thinking, challenging Falkner's Pidgeotto in that condition?"

"Will you _shut up!?_" Kani spat, her temper flaring. She might have attacked him if the room hadn't still been spinning. "I'm older than you are, and I've been on the team longer, too! I don't need you to babysit me! You have no idea why I did what I did!"

"Then tell me!" Zuki demanded. "Go on! I meant it when I asked you before! What were you thinking? What on earth was going through your head?"

"I…" Kani hesitated. Now that she was thinking a bit more clearly and the red haze of fury was no longer overwhelming all her senses, not even she truly understood the reasoning behind her actions. Whatever was going on with Chikorita, that Pidgeotto had nothing to do with it. But her emotions had completely taken over her. It was the result of trying to keep everything inside, she knew; Chikorita had always been the only one she'd trusted to confide in, the only one to see her true self behind the walls of antagonism she put up for everyone else. But now that she was gone…

She glared at the floor, refused to meet Zuki's eyes. "It doesn't matter," she growled finally. "It's got nothing to do with you."

Zuki sighed, frustrated. No matter what he did, no matter how hard tried, he could not get Kani to open up to him. This was the most either of them had ever spoken to each other at one time, but somehow she always managed to turn any conversation into an argument. Something was going on, something bigger than simple anger issues, but he didn't know what, and she certainly wasn't about to tell him. Whatever had made her lose control like that in the Gym was likely to remain a mystery.

_But at least she's okay,_ he thought. It surprised him a little, having only been on the team for a day, but he truly was concerned for Kani's welfare. If she had died…

He shook the thought away. There was no need to think about that now. She _hadn't_ died, and that's what mattered.

A loud thunderclap sounded from outside, making both Pokémon start in surprise. Kani blinked. "It's raining…?" She hadn't even been aware of it before. Now she could clearly hear the soft pattering of raindrops hitting the roof.

"Yeah," Zuki nodded. "There's a huge thunderstorm that's been going on for about an hour."

"And Makoto's out in this?"

He shrugged. "He said he doesn't mind the rain."

"Huh." Kani glanced towards the sliding doors, as if expecting her Trainer to walk inside at that moment.

"I can go find him, if you want," Zuki offered, noticing the glance.

"…Don't bother," she muttered. "It's not like I care where he is."

"Hm…" Zuki watched her for a few moments, trying to determine what she was really thinking. "Well, I'll go anyway," he said, hopping off his pillow. "He's been gone for a while now, after all."

"Are you always this micromanage-y?" Kani grumbled, shifting back into a more comfortable position. "I'm sure Makoto doesn't need you looking after him. He's _your_ Trainer."

"I know," Zuki agreed, heading for the doors. "That's why I need to protect him, right?"

"…Against the rain?"

He shrugged. "Anything could happen out there. It doesn't hurt to have someone with you. I'd have gone with him earlier, but he told me to stay here in case you woke up."

Kani rolled her eyes. "Do whatever you want."

Zuki didn't reply until he had reached the other end of the room, where the doors opened to reveal the storm fully—the rain coming down in a torrent, trees swaying with the wind, and a lightning bolt flashing across the sky. Another crack of thunder, even louder than before, echoed in the distance. Zuki looked back at Kani over his shoulder. "Besides," he said, grinning, "I like thunderstorms."

And he stepped through the entrance of the Pokémon Center, disappearing as the doors slid shut behind him.

…

It was dark, and the moon shone high in the sky. Totodile crept through the undergrowth as quietly as she could manage, not wanting to alert some wild Pokémon to her presence. She was running, running from the grassy field and the lack of shelter and the crowd of strangers. Even the temporary comfort of a new "friend"—if she could call it that—had not been enough to counter everything else about this place that she hated, and she didn't care where she was going as long as it was away from here.

Chikorita had called all the other Pokémon over to meet her, and they had obliged, greeting her politely, and then leaving to converse with each other. Chikorita herself had left to join them, to mingle with the crowd, and Totodile was left alone. Alone in a sea of strangers, which, somehow, was infinitely worse than the true solitude of her marshland home. The others talking amongst themselves in the sunlight, chatting happily as if they had known each other all their lives, was a level of familiarity Totodile could not relate to. And watching it all around her, while she stood alone in the shade, was more than she was willing to put up with.

"Totodile!"

She stiffened, recognizing that voice. She ignored it, quickening her pace through the woods.

"Totodile, wait up!"

It was getting closer. Totodile seethed, hating how slow she was on dry land.

"Please, stop running!" Chikorita caught up and ran right in her path, intercepting her and forcing her to skid to a halt. "Totodile—"

"How did you get here?" Totodile demanded, cutting her off. "How did you know where I was?"

"I…I followed you," Chikorita admitted. "I woke up and saw you leaving, so I followed you, but I didn't call out until I was sure you weren't coming back. Totodile, where are you going?"

"Get out of here," Totodile snapped, ignoring her question and trying to move around her. "Go back to your new home."

"Not without you!" Chikorita protested, blocking her way. "Why are you leaving?"

"It's got nothing to do with you."

"Yes, it does," she insisted. "You're my friend, aren't you?"

Totodile snorted. "Yeah, just like everyone else. I'm not special, so drop the act already. You and those others don't want anything to do with me."

"That's not true. Why would you say something like that?" Chikorita asked, looking hurt.

"It doesn't matter. Just get out of the way."

"…No.

"Move," Totodile growled, attempting to get past.

"No," she protested, blocking her again.

"Dammit, let me go or I'll—"

"I won't!" Her eyes blazed with sudden defiance. "I won't let you leave until you tell me why."

"Because I'd rather be alone than be stuck with the rest of you!" Totodile spat, reaching her breaking point. "Because I'd rather live the rest of my life by myself than have to watch everyone else acting so close and familiar with each other and ignoring me! Because I don't want _you_ pretending to be my friend just because you feel sorry for me!" She fixed the Leaf Pokémon with a furious glare. "Now will you let me go?"

Chikorita looked distressed. "Totodile, that's wrong. I wasn't pitying you. I really care about you!"

"Why?" she demanded. "Why would you care so much about someone like me, someone who you've never even met before?"

"Because…well…" Chikorita dropped her gaze, and for a moment Totodile was sure that she had been right, that the Leaf Pokémon hadn't given a damn about her after all. But then she looked up again, and her eyes glowed with fervent sincerity. "Because I admire you!"

Totodile was not expecting that. "Huh?" she said stupidly, her anger abruptly diffused.

"I admire you," Chikorita repeated. "You're not like me, you don't seek attention from others all the time. I always worry about whether I'm liked by everyone, and I try to change myself to suit them. But you don't need to have people like you; you're just yourself, and that's all there is to it, and everyone else can either accept you for who you are or leave you be. When you told me you used to be by yourself all the time, I was shocked, because I couldn't imagine living that way. I would probably go insane from loneliness. But you're not like that—you can live on your own, just as yourself, and never care what other people think. I…I think you're a really strong person, Totodile," she said earnestly. "And I really admire you for that."

Totodile, stunned, struggled to form a coherent sentence out of the fog of confusion clouding over her brain. "But…but earlier, you were barely talking to me," she said, utterly bewildered. "When we were with your other friends…I thought—"

"I didn't want to be a nuisance," Chikorita confessed, bowing her head slightly. "You seemed like you didn't want to talk, and I figured my constant chatter would annoy you. I was really happy when you agreed to come with me and join the group, but I didn't want to push you too far, so…I left you alone. I thought that was what you wanted."

"I…" For once, Totodile had nothing to say back. No sharp retorts, no irate comebacks, no angry threats. She simply stood there, trying to understand the sheer impossibility of what Chikorita was telling her.

"…Totodile?" Chikorita asked tentatively.

"…You're wrong," Totodile said quietly. She had finished processing her words, but she didn't feel any better. Somehow, the realization that someone could look up to her that much felt wrong. Why would anyone want to be around someone like her, let alone admire her? "You think I'm this strong person on the inside…but a truly strong person wouldn't hide from what she wants." Chikorita blinked at her, confused, and Totodile kept going, the words suddenly tumbling out of her mouth in a torrent, the walls she always put around herself starting to break. "I'm not a social person; I hate talking to people I don't know. And since I was always alone, I never knew anyone. It was lonely—of course it was! But I've never known anything different! I didn't know I was missing anything until you started talking to me. And when I realized I hated being alone after all, I still couldn't do anything. I couldn't break out of my shell long enough to approach anyone. So I left. Or tried to, anyway."

"Totodile…"

"I'm not strong at all," she went on bitterly. "I never have been. I just pretend to be. I don't want to become a social person, or have a huge circle of friends—that's not who I am. But I'd rather have just one person I can trust, than be surrounded by people I can't."

Chikorita watched as Totodile exposed her true self to her, revealing more and more of everything she kept hidden. And as she listened, she gradually began to understand just what Totodile was trying to tell her.

She had lived alone all her life. She didn't know how to talk to people, and generally had no interest in doing so.

But she was lonely—desperately lonely—and she had never let herself admit it.

Not to herself, not to anyone.

And being surrounded by the very thing she wanted, yet being unable to have it herself, was much more painful than just giving up and not having it in the first place.

But if just one person was all she needed…

Chikorita knew she could help her.

She walked towards her, extending a vine just as she had earlier on that very same day. "Then trust me."

Totodile stared at her uncertainly. "…What?"

"You want a person you can trust," Chikorita went on. "Let me be that person. You've already shown me sides of yourself you've never shown to anyone else. So trust me with the rest."

"But…" Totodile shook her head. "It doesn't—I can't—"

"It's alright," Chikorita said gently. She took another step closer, extending a second tendril. "You don't have to say anything else right now." Then she took one more step, reaching out for the startled Big Jaw Pokémon and wrapping her in a hug with her vines.

"Just let me be with you, okay, Totodile?"

She opened her mouth, closed it again, stood in stunned silence as Chikorita tightened her embrace. Her resolve weakening, she found her voice and whispered a question. "…Why?"

Chikorita smiled. "I told you before," she said softly. "I _like_ you."

And with that, the mental barriers around Totodile finally dropped. A fresh wave of emotion swept over her, and this time she didn't fight it—but all the same she was surprised when a choked sob rose in her throat. She didn't understand it at all. Was being hugged by Chikorita always going to cause this reaction? Why should something intended to make her feel better be making her miserable instead? And why, then, despite this, did Totodile not want her to leave?

Chikorita ran the tip of one vine along her head. "Shhh," she said soothingly as Totodile gripped her so tightly that her claws nearly pierced skin. "It's okay. It's okay… Shhh…"

…

Kani, after several failed attempts to get back to sleep, sighed and sat upright. It was still pouring outside, and despite her fondness of rain, the raging storm seemed too uninviting even for her. She wondered briefly how long Zuki and Makoto were going to insist on staying outside in this, not because she was particularly concerned for their welfare, but just out of dull curiosity. It really didn't matter to her either way.

As if on cue, the doors to the Pokemon Center slid open, and Kani looked up to see Makoto standing at the entrance, his hair and clothing sopping wet. At the sight of his Pokemon conscious and sitting upright, Makoto gasped aloud. "Kani!" He rushed forward, dropping to his knees in front of her. He started to reach out for her, then stopped as if fearing what her reaction would be and let his hand fall limply. "Are you alright?" His voice was kept in careful control, but his eyes gave away his frantic anxiety. Kani spared him a brief glance, then looked away again indifferently and without a word.

Pain flashed across Makoto's features for a moment before it was quickly concealed. "...You almost died," he went on quietly. "I've been really worried. What were you thinking?"

Her eyes narrowed to slits, but she made no reply or even glanced in his direction. Makoto's frustration level rose, and his hands balled into tight fists as he continued talking. "Look...you can't keep doing things like this. You can't just do whatever you want. Eventually something will end up happening to you, and you might not be able to recover from it." He swallowed, remembering Silver's threat. "I...I don't want anything like this to happen again. But there's only so much I can do if you won't listen to me. Please just trust me from now on, alright? Because... I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Makoto paused for a few seconds after this, waiting for some kind of response, any sign that she had heard him. But as Kani remained completely unresponsive, Makoto's frustration peaked, his temper flaring. "Dammit, Kani!" he burst out angrily, and his arm shot forward as if to strike her. Kani, startled by this uncharacteristic display of anger from her Trainer, flinched away as his hand reached for her.

But instead of striking her, Makoto scooped Kani up with his arm and hugged her, holding her close against his rain-soaked jacket. "You idiot," he said harshly, his voice shaking. "Don't you get it? Don't you get how much I care about you? You're so wrapped up in your own world that you don't even notice the people around you."

Kani, who had grown numb with shock, tried to growl a response or struggle against her Trainer's arms and found she couldn't. A sudden memory flashed through her mind, of being held like this only the night before. She thought that had just been a dream, and had forgotten about it.

"You think you're the only one who knows what you're going through. You think now that your closest friend is gone, you can never confide or trust in anyone ever again." He paused to try and steady his voice, while Kani wondered in a haze of numb confusion how he could know this. "Well, you're wrong. Because I _know,_ Kani. I see and hear and feel everything that happens to you in your eyes. I don't know how or why, but something, some kind of connection or link, is allowing me to feel the same things you do. I remember Chikorita talking to you for the first time, I remember when you were forced to separate from her and fight against her in the same day, and I remember in the Sprout Tower when she looked at you and whispered your name."

Stunned, Kani struggled to process this information and find a way to invalidate it, but she could not. There was no other way he could possibly be saying these things. He did know. He had known all this time.

"So stop fighting me," Makoto went on, his voice a whispered plea. "Stop acting like I'm the enemy when all I want to do is help you. Stop keeping everything bottled up until you explode and nearly kill yourself like you did in the Gym.

"Just..._trust_ me."

The force of his last sentence made Kani feel as though she had been dealt a physical blow. She trembled as his arms tightened around her.

_"You want a person you can trust."_

"Let me be that person."

Chikorita had been her outlet, her savior, the only one who had ever been allowed to see the person behind the cold exterior shell.

_"You've shown me sides of yourself you've never shown to anyone else. So trust me with the rest."_

She had given this trust to her, and only her, because she had accepted Kani and wanted to stay with her despite knowing what kind of a person she was.

_"I told you before... I like you."_

Chikorita wasn't with her anymore. But someone else was. And a new question formed in Kani's mind, one that had never occurred to her before but that could change her for good, depending on the answer.

Could Makoto be trusted with what she kept well-guarded at all times—herself?

_Yes,_ she thought, and the ease at which she accepted that answer surprised even her. Yes, he could.

And with that realization, Kani buried her face in Makoto's shoulder, letting tears overwhelm her for the second time in her entire life.

…

As they lay next to each other under the tree in the grassy field, Totodile nudged her friend to keep her from going to sleep just yet. "Chikorita?"

"Yes?" The Leaf Pokémon lifted her head to look at her.

"You won't…tell anyone…right?" she said rather awkwardly.

Chikorita nudged her back affectionately. "Like I said, you can trust me. As far as everyone else is concerned, you're the same antisocial and unfriendly Totodile you used to be."

Totodile nodded, reassured. "And I'll keep your secret too."

"Hm?"

"About wanting everyone to like you, remember?"

"Oh yes, that…" She laughed quietly, embarrassed. "Well, I want to try to get better at that. Not changing myself to suit others. I should be more like you."

Totodile smirked. "You definitely don't want that."

"Don't say that," Chikorita chastised her. "You are strong, no matter what you say. And I think being more like you is a worthy goal."

"Well, I have a better one," Totodile argued. "Just be more like _yourself._ I prefer the Chikorita that's here, right now."

She flushed slightly. "…You've never said something like that before."

"Yes, and I'm not going to say it again anytime soon, so I hope you took it to heart the first time." Even now, there was a limit to how effusive she was willing to get.

"I did," Chikorita assured her. "Thank you, Totodile."

They fell asleep shortly after, sheltered somewhat beneath the giant tree's branches, curled up against each other as the stars and the moon shone above them.


	7. Chapter 7

The weather was usually quite pleasant around Route 32; the grasses lush, the skies clear, the sun bright and hot and filling all the plants and wild Pokémon with energy. Just this morning, it had been that way.

Holly scowled up at the big, dark, gray cloud that filled an entire corner of the sky and really had no business being up there in the middle of a day that had started out so well. It loomed over her almost insolently, as if someone had put it there deliberately for the sole purpose of ruining her fun. Mama Jumpluff would call them back, she knew, and there would be no more playtime until the cloud had gone.

"Holly!" One of her sisters, Hopi, came up beside her. "What are you standing around for?"

"Yeah sis, come back and play!" Po, the youngest Hoppip (and her favorite brother, secretly) piped up from Holly's other side. All the rest of her siblings were around her, sunbathing or chasing each other through the grass or hopping from branch to branch up in the trees. Their mother was farther back, she knew, back in the sheltered clearing in the woods where they resided.

"I'm looking at that cloud," Holly muttered. It seemed to have moved slightly closer to them in the short time she had been staring at it.

Her sister glanced up. "Oh...it's really big," she said anxiously. "Do you think there will be a thunderstorm?"

Po let out a squeak of fright. "I don't like thunderstorms!"

"Po, you've never seen one before."

"...Oh." He pondered this for a moment. "Well, I still don't like them!"

"How do you know if you've never seen one before?"

"I just do," he insisted. "Mama's told me about storms. They turn the sky all dark. They make water come down from the clouds. They're big and scary and make _'boom-boom'_ noises."

Hopi rolled her eyes while Holly just smirked. Po's childish description of a thunderstorm might have been more accurate had he included the real threat, the only aspect that was truly of any danger to them. Still, her amusement at his little speech was enough to put her back into a good mood. "Come on, Po," she said, linking one of her sprouts with his. "Let's go play while we still have some time left."

As if on cue, another of their siblings burst from the trees and into the grass, eyes wide with alarm. "Everyone, come back—Mama's calling us home!"

A resounding series of protests rose up from the surrounding Hoppip, but they all went grudgingly, following the sister that had called them. "Awww," Po whined, sulking unhappily. He blinked mournfully at Holly. "Sis, you said we'd get to play some more!"

"I'm sorry," Holly told him, meaning it. "We'll just have to wait the storm out first. We can play after that, okay? I promise."

Po's earnest gaze told Holly that he'd hold her to that.

When they arrived back at the clearing, the other Hoppip had already made it before them, scattered around the woods within sight but not particularly organized. Mama Jumpluff was there, welcoming her children back as they returned. "Holly, Po," she sighed in relief at the sight of them. "You're the last ones to arrive."

Holly made a face. "We weren't _that_ slow, were we?"

A light breeze rustled through the trees, and they all stiffened, even Po, though for him it was more out of instinct than experience. When the air had settled, Holly began to relax, and Mama gave them a nod before heading off to comfort another cluster of younger Hoppip who had started to whimper in fright.

"Sis," Po said nervously. He was staring up at the storm cloud in the sky, which was blocked partially by the trees but still visible through their branches, covering most of the sky now and significantly darker than before. "Is everything going to be okay?"

"Stop worrying, Po," Holly told him firmly. "You're too big to be scared by storms." Even so, she stroked a sprout across the top of her little brother's head soothingly, and Po seemed reassured.

Several minutes passed in silence, as the scattered group of Hoppip milled about uncertainly and their mother tried to keep all of them calm. Then a bolt of lightning flashed in the sky, followed by a clap of thunder, and all the Cottonweed Pokémon tensed visibly. Another breeze shook the branches overhead. Holly glanced around, at all her siblings, and at little Po, and she knew what they had to do next.

"Cluster," she said aloud, so that the Hoppip nearest to her would hear. Po blinked up at her with wide eyes. "Cluster," he repeated slowly. Then others started to take up the call. "Cluster," a few of them said, and then a few more, until the whole group of Hoppip were saying it, almost like a chant. "Cluster," they all sang. "Cluster, cluster, cluster!"

As they spoke, all the Hoppip gathered in a tight knot, their mother Jumpluff at the center. One by one, they huddled close together and linked sprouts, forming a chain that even the wind would have a hard time tearing apart. Holly rushed forward instinctively and stood at the edge of the circle, linking her sprouts with Hopi and another of her brothers as the skies opened up above them.

The rain pattered down through the branches, the lightning flashed, the thunder crashed, and the wind howled as it grew fiercer, threatening to tear the trembling group of Hoppip apart. Holly gripped her siblings' sprouts tighter with her own even as she felt them do the same.

And then she heard a noise that made her heart stop.

"Sis!" a familiar voice wailed, nearly overpowered by the shrieking of the wind. "Help!"

Holly whirled around as best she could without letting go of her siblings, and her eyes widened at the sight of Po standing inches away, gripping the ground tightly with his feet and his own eyes filled with terror. With a jolt of horror, Holly realized that she must have left Po behind in her effort to reach the safety of the circle. She had assumed that he would follow, but Po, awed by the sudden intensity of the storm, had stopped to stare up at it in amazement, and was unprepared for the strength of the wind that came soon afterwards. It was a miracle he hadn't been blown away already.

Holly tensed, gripped the sprout of her other brother as tight as she could, and released the one holding Hopi's. Her sister gasped. "Holly, what are you doing?"

"Saving Po!" Holly shouted against the storm, which was growing louder and fiercer as the seconds passed. She stretched, reaching as far as she could with her sprout to her brother's smaller ones. A strong gust of wind nearly dislodged her, and she grimaced, stretching out even farther. Po's sprouts and her own swiped uselessly at the air for several moments, and then—

"Gotcha!" Holly cried, pulling hard on Po as soon as she knew she had a good grip on him. Hopi reached out as Po was flung towards her, and their sprouts were soon tightly intertwined together. Holly sighed in relief, allowing herself to relax now that her brother was safe.

And a new gust of wind, stronger than ever before, caught all of them by surprise. Holly gasped as she felt her grip loosen, and suddenly she was ripped away, her limbs flailing uselessly in the air. Her siblings cried out, Hopi louder than most and Po loudest of all, watching their sister get taken by the storm.

Holly screamed as the wind carried her farther and farther from her family, her home, and into the darkness of the woods beyond.

…

The morning after the storm was clear and bright, though cooler than it had been in previous days. Raindrops hung from the branches of all the surrounding trees, and puddles of varying sizes had formed all over the place. Children and some of the native Pokémon amused themselves by leaping into the puddles, scattering droplets everywhere and getting themselves soaked.

Makoto pushed the brim of his cap around and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Alright, guys," he announced to the two Pokémon standing behind him. "It's time to leave Violet City!"

They'd certainly spent enough time here, Kani reflected as the doors of the Pokémon Center slid open and they all stepped outside onto the wet ground. Their departure was long overdue...though she supposed that was mostly her fault.

She breathed in, allowing the air to wash over her scent glands. She had always enjoyed the taste of the moisture after a storm.

"Kani, are you sure you're alright?" Zuki's anxious voice came up beside her as they walked.

Kani stifled a sigh. This was the third time he had asked that this morning. "Are you ever going to quit pestering me? I've recovered from the battle, honestly. My wounds are all healed, and I'm well rested."

"No, that's not what I meant." Zuki paused, fidgeting. "Last night...you seemed as if something was troubling you. And then with you and Makoto..." He trailed off, not wanting to voice aloud what he had witnessed the night before, unsure of what her reaction would be.

She stopped for a moment, studying him. The idea that he had seen her breakdown last night made her uncomfortable and more than a little wary. Still, she wouldn't avoid his question. "I'm fine," she told him, realizing that she truly did mean it. "In fact...I feel better than I have in a while."

Something in her tone must have convinced him. Reassured, at least for the moment, Zuki swatted her lightly with his tail—as affectionate a gesture as he dared to give her—and went to catch up to Makoto. Baffled, Kani followed him.

When she caught up to them, Makoto was standing with his Pokégear pressed to his ear. Kani listened as best she could as Professor Elm's voice spoke to her Trainer through the device, but didn't catch much beyond what Makoto was saying.

"What is it?" Makoto asked. He listened for a few moments. "Uh huh...sure...near the PokéMart? That's fine, we were going to stop by there anyway." He paused again. "Alright, no problem. Goodbye, Professor."

Makoto hung up and pocketed the Pokégear. "Apparently, the Professor has something to give us," he told Kani and Zuki, who were staring up at him questioningly. "He told his assistant to meet us in the PokéMart." Zuki nodded, and Kani shrugged, seeing no problem with this, though she hoped it wouldn't take all day. She did want to keep moving, after all.

The lab assistant smiled pleasantly as Makoto stepped inside the PokéMart, with his two Pokémon following close behind. "Long time no see, Makoto," he greeted. "I've been waiting for you. This is from Professor Elm."

He held out something in his hands. Makoto took a closer look, and his eyes widened in astonishment. "This is...that egg?"

"The very same," the assistant agreed. "The Professor has decided to leave it in your care."

"But why?" Makoto asked, confused.

The assistant shrugged. "I am unsure of the exact details, though it seems that a Pokémon will only hatch from this egg when kept with a traveling Trainer. The Professor decided there was no one better suited to take on this task."

"Wait...I-I'm honored, but..." Makoto stammered, taking a small step backwards. "I don't have the slightest idea how to take care of an egg, or how to raise a hatchling. Won't it require a lot of special attention? What if I do something wrong?"

The assistant smiled. "Do not doubt yourself, Makoto. You've already proven yourself to be a fantastic Trainer, judging by the badge you've acquired from this city's Gym." He gestured to the Zephyr Badge fastened to Makoto's jacket, which he had all but forgotten about until just now. "Besides," he went on as Makoto started to protest further, "Professor Elm has placed his trust in you before. He knows—as do I—that you will do whatever needs to be done."

Makoto looked at him uncertainly, then at the white-colored egg with that strange triangle pattern. Then he sighed and took it carefully from the assistant's hands. The man nodded approvingly.

"I will tell inform Professor that the egg has been delivered safely." He started for the doors, before turning and looking back. "And Makoto..."

Makoto glanced up. The assistant smiled. "Good luck on your journey."

Then he was gone, and Makoto was left with his Pokémon, who were both standing at his feet, trying to get a better look at the object he held in his hands. Makoto crouched down and held it out to them. "Well, it looks like we have a new addition to our party."

Kani sniffed it gingerly, then backed away. It was the same egg she had seen in that cabin just a few days ago, and she wasn't particularly keen on remembering the events of that day. Zuki, on the other hand, let out a gasp, his tail suddenly growing brighter. "That...that egg...!"

Kani glanced at him, and was surprised at the change in his behavior. His whole body seemed to have stiffened in shock, and his eyes were wide, almost frightened. But why would he be frightened of an egg?

Before she could make sense of this, Makoto set the egg gently down on the floor next to them. "I'm going to go stock up on supplies," he told them, seemingly oblivious to Zuki's reaction, gesturing to the the counter a little ways away. "You guys stay here and watch the egg, okay? I'll be right back."

Zuki didn't even look up. Kani nodded hastily to Makoto, who gave her a quick pat on the head and walked off. "Zuki," she started as soon as they were alone. "What's the matter?"

He didn't answer, but shook his head slowly, as if unsure what he was seeing was real. "No..." he muttered to himself. "This can't be right...this egg was...I saw it..."

"Zuki!" Kani cut in, a bit more sharply this time. "Stop daydreaming and tell me what's going on."

The Wool Pokémon looked up at her, looking as if he had just woken from a dream. "Sorry...I just thought I recognized this egg from somewhere, that's all."

When Kani didn't say anything, Zuki glanced back at the egg. "My younger brother...he used to love eggs," he said quietly, reaching out with a paw to touch its smooth shell. "Our community kept all its eggs stored away in a safe place, and he would always go down to take care of them. Sometimes he'd go missing without telling anyone, and I'd always find him there, curled up among all those eggs...he said he found it more comfortable there..." He stopped when he realized Kani was staring at him, with a look in her pale red eyes that he had never seen before. Was it curiosity, sympathy, or something else? He couldn't tell. "Anyway," Zuki went on hastily, "it doesn't matter anymore. I guess seeing this egg just reminded me of him."

"..." Kani wasn't sure how to respond. These types of conversations left her feeling more awkward than anything else. "What was your community like?" she ended up asking, unable to think of anything else to say.

Zuki shrugged. "It's pretty large, though we don't run into each other often. We tend to keep to ourselves, except for whoever we call family or close friends. My brother was one I considered family, and Mira—that was the Mareep you saw with me back at Route 32, remember?—was another. I guess she was kind of like an older sister. But we all gather together every once in a while to socialize a little and share information. Our community as a whole is pretty well informed, since we have some really good connections. I knew all about Trainers and battles long before Makoto caught me. Of course, we hear a lot of other stuff too that usually turns out to be exaggerated rumors," he added, thinking of the ridiculous story the Gastly had spewed about the Chikorita gone insane at Sprout Tower. He considered telling Kani about it to see what she thought when the Big Jaw Pokémon spoke again.

"What happened to your brother?" she asked. Kani did remember Mira—she had been a respectable fighter, if memory served—but the younger brother hadn't been anywhere nearby, as far as she knew.

Zuki was silent for a long while, which suddenly made Kani wonder she had said the wrong thing. "...He's dead," he said finally, his gaze now fixed firmly on the egg in front of him. "A wild Pokémon killed him."

Guilt pricked uncomfortably at Kani as she realized too late that she should have just kept her mouth shut. "Sorry," she muttered, casting her gaze to the floor. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, _I'm_ sorry," Zuki insisted, looking up at her and sounding more like himself again. "You couldn't have known. It's not a big deal, really." But his eyes seemed to shine with fresh resolve, as if he had just made some decision that Kani was not aware of. And as he spoke, his tail wrapped protectively around the white, triangle-patterned egg.

_This time,_ he thought to himself firmly, holding the egg close against his wool. _This time I won't fail._

This time I'll protect you.

…

Makoto stepped through the trees and into the bright sunshine of Route 32. This area was familiar to him now, as it was where he had caught Zuki. He glanced over at the exact tree that Zuki had been sitting under, and reached up to gently rub his Pokémon's wool. Zuki had taken to perching on Makoto's shoulder as he walked so that he could be closer to the egg, which was now safely contained in a pouch in Makoto's backpack. Kani was still on the ground, and continually glanced up at Zuki and shook her head, as if thinking the Wool Pokémon had lost his mind. She couldn't understand why he had gone from his first reaction to the egg to suddenly deciding there was nothing he wanted more than to take care of it. But she supposed it was his problem. At least it meant she wasn't going to get stuck watching it.

They met several Trainers along the way, and as they weren't in any particular rush, Makoto was more than happy to stop and improve their skills a little. There was a moment when Makoto seemed apprehensive about letting Kani battle, remembering the disaster that had happened at the Gym, but one look from his Pokémon told him that there was no need to worry. She trusted him now. He knew he would have to trust her in return.

Zuki was reluctant to leave the egg's side at first, but after several minutes of Kani "persuading" him ("Do you think it's going to shatter if you leave it alone for two seconds? How do you think you're going to protect anything if you're weaker than a Magikarp? If it has any awareness of the outside world, the Pokémon inside that egg would probably be _grateful_ to have a break from you! _Go train, you idiot!_"), he consented. It proved not to be for naught, as he ended up mastering a new technique that he'd had little control over before.

"What did I tell you?" Kani told him afterwards, looking rather smug.

"Yeah, yeah..." Zuki flicked his tail good-humoredly at her. He was glad that she was beginning to open up to him, even if it was just a little. They may not be the best of friends yet, but she was showing him a side of herself that wasn't simply open hostility, so he supposed that was something.

Most of that day was spent training, and it was growing dark by the time they neared the end of the route. They would have continued on without delay, but before they could reach Union Cave (which, according to the Pokégear, was the next major landmark they would have to get through to reach Azalea Town), Zuki stopped to stare into the trees, almost certain that he had seen something move. Makoto paused, sensing his sudden disquiet. "Zuki? What is it?"

He didn't answer, but started walking towards the woods. Makoto and Kani looked at each other, confused, and then went to follow him. He didn't understand it himself, but he had the feeling whatever he had just seen out of the corner of his eye was not simply a wild Pokémon going about its business. For whatever reason, what he had just seen felt wrong and out of place—and he meant to find out why.

As they picked their way through the leaves and branches, the "thing" Zuki had seen stirred slightly and lifted its head. "Who...are you?" it demanded, though its voice was weak. It was small, round, and pink, with two large triangular ears, smaller arms and legs, a tiny tail, and two green sprouts growing from the top of its head. The Pokémon was a Hoppip, a species Zuki was used to seeing around Route 32 quite often, though now he understood why the sight of one now seemed so odd to him. Hoppip were never seen in the evening; they woke early in the morning and disappeared as soon as the sun had begun to set. To find one in the woods at this time of day meant something was wrong.

"My name is Zuki," he said cautiously, stepping forward. Upon closer inspection, he could clearly see that the Hoppip was injured; it had several scratch marks on its body and one of its sprouts was torn. "The person behind me is my Trainer, Makoto, and the Totodile is called Kani." He gestured to Makoto, who had let out a gasp of concern and crouched down beside the Hoppip once he gotten a look at its injuries, and Kani, who was staring at the Cottonweed Pokémon with what may have been curiosity. "Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright?" the Hoppip retorted. It was a female, and a young one at that. She tried to struggle to her feet, but ended up collapsing back against the ground, wincing in pain.

"Don't move!" Makoto, anxious, reached out and picked the little Hoppip up. She cried out in surprise, but relaxed as Makoto held her gently in his arms. "I'll take care of you," he promised. "Don't move until your wounds have been treated, okay?"

The Hoppip let out a soft trill of contentment. Zuki stood up on his hind legs, placing his paws on Makoto's arm to get a better look at her. "You'll be alright," he said. "Makoto's a great Trainer. He'd never let any Pokémon suffer." _You should have seen him when Kani got hurt in the Gym..._

She nodded slowly, her eyes already beginning to close. "I can tell. I suppose I'll have to trust you for now, huh?"

Makoto shrugged off the backpack, which landed on the ground with a gentle _thud._ "Kani, can you get me a Potion from in there?"

"What?" Kani stared at him in disbelief. Why should she have to fetch his stuff? She didn't know which pocket he put the medicine into. She didn't even know how to open the bag.

"Please, Kani?" Makoto turned his head to look at her pleadingly. "I've got my hands full here, and this Hoppip needs help."

Sighing, Kani turned her attention to the bag. _I guess I'll just have to figure it out._

"What happened, anyway?" Zuki asked the Hoppip. "How come you're hurt like this?"

"The storm..." the Hoppip mumbled drowsily. "The wind was so strong...it took me from my family while we were clustered together. I guess it brought me here...wherever _here_ is."

"You're still on Route 32," Zuki assured her. "Just...a little farther than you're probably used to being."

"Well...I suppose that's good."

"Could you maybe come over here and help me out?" Kani called out irritably to Zuki, not making any progress whatsoever on the bag. He ignored her, focusing on the rapidly fading Hoppip.

"You're lucky we found you when we did," he went on. "You might have died out here otherwise."

She scowled at him. "You think I don't know that? It's not like I _asked_ the storm to take me away and dump me out here."

"Well, clearly the rest of your family isn't here. How come you're the only one that got taken?"

The Hoppip sighed. "I was trying to save my brother...he's so little, and he got separated from us at the last minute. I let go of my sister to grab him, and I managed to drag him to the circle, but..." She trailed off, and Zuki could guess what had happened next.

"Would you stop socializing and help me open this damn thing!?" Kani snapped, getting more and more frustrated. Zuki was about to give in and go help when the Hoppip suddenly went limp, her sprouts drooping and her eyes starting to close again.

"Wait!" he pleaded, his attention focused fully on her again. "Don't fall asleep yet. I...I don't even know what your name is."

She paused, struggling to stay awake for a few more seconds. "Holly," she whispered finally, before exhaustion overcame her and she fell unconscious.

_Holly..._ Zuki thought, watching Makoto stroke the Hoppip with the lightest of touches.

_Rrriiiiiiip!_

The sound made Zuki and Makoto both turn around. Kani, fed up with her lack of opposable thumbs and having given up on Zuki ever coming to help, had finally decided to do this the easy way and rip the backpack apart with her teeth. Makoto stared in dismay as supplies poured out onto the ground, while Zuki rushed forward hastily to keep his egg from rolling away. Kani merely nodded in satisfaction, sifted through the pile of items in the gaping hole she had ripped in the bag, pulled out a purple spray bottle, and dropped it on the ground next to him. "Here's your Potion."

Makoto suppressed an exasperated groan, reaching out to pick up the Potion instead while nestling Holly in the crook of his other arm. "...Thank you, Kani."

_I'm going to have to buy a new bag now,_ he thought ruefully as he sprayed the contents of the healing Potion on the wounded Hoppip. _But at least I saved a Pokémon. That's worth having to pay for a backpack, right?_

"You're unbelievable," Zuki said to Kani, shaking his head and curling his tail around the egg.

She glared at him. "Hey, _you_ were the one too busy to come over and help me out. Maybe Makoto will learn from this and buy a bag that's easier to open next time. One without all these damn metal things."

"They're called 'zippers', just so you know."

"Don't really care."

Makoto stood up, pocketing the now-empty Potion and carrying the unconscious Holly. "Alright, I've healed the worst of her wounds, and she should be fine for as long as it takes us to get her to the nearest Pokémon Center." He looked around. "Now if I knew where the nearest Pokémon Center was, that would be even better... I guess we should get out these woods first, though."

_Is he just going to leave all these supplies here?_ Zuki wondered as they started walking back the way they had come, leaving the torn open bag and its contents on the ground. He had bent to pick up the egg, allowing Zuki to clamber back onto his shoulder to look after it more closely, but made no move to collect the items he had bought. Maybe he would come back for them later. It's not as if wild Pokémon had any use for them, and it was important they get Holly to a Pokémon Center as soon as they could.

He glanced at the Hoppip, still motionless in Makoto's arms. _She'll be okay,_ he reassured himself, much in the same way he had reassured Holly earlier. _Makoto will take care of her. Just like he takes care of us._


End file.
